alexwthegreat17-blog

[tina-aumont]

María Montez II 1970s photos

These two photos were published in 4th July 1975 Spanish magazine Pronto (number 164). In this magazine there was a short interview in which she said:

Above all, I am interested in myself, which is why I may not work as hard because that is not the most important thing for me. I hear many actresses say: "I would sacrifice everything for my career" and that seems ridiculous to me. I like being an actress and I like my job, but I am not willing to sacrifice myself for my character.

I totally refuse to work on erotic films, I have lost many films because of that, but by refusing to do nudes in the cinema I cannot make films, because I am left without making them and moving on to something else. It is not puritanism but because I am against this new wave of nudity in the cinema. To do it you don't need to have talent, you just need to have no shame. I am not interested in the public that goes to the cinema with the determined purpose of seeing a naked man or a woman, there are all kinds.

I have never tried drugs and I am not the least bit curious about them. As for sex, I am in favour of a completely fair, normal and healthy balance.

At the time this interview and these photos were published (July 1975), María was already living in France with the Roy Hart Theatre as she went live there in 1974, so perhaps these photos were taken in 1973 or 1974 just before moving to France, the Spring 1975 photos show María with short hair (unless she's wearing a wig, which I don't think so).

[niconote]

RELEASE LISTENING PARTY Thursday, October 24th at 6pm Libertine Records Shop Forster Str. 51, Kreuzberg, BERLIN

Release Launch Party • New Lp on NIM/Big Doings

NicoNote invites you to a COLLECTIVE LISTENING SESSION of the new album  REGOLA  suite in 9 frames inspired by Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) LP Limited edition 200 vinyl & digital on New Interplanetary Melodies / Big Doings 

We'll listen to the record together, followed by a Q&A. Sharing listening in the same space. The new immersive electronic project REGOLA encourages emotional and deep listening. 

[NIM014] NICONOTE - REGOLA LP vinyl 140 gr  Released by New Interplanetary Melodies & Big Doings Conception, Voice, Dramaturgy by NicoNote Sound design by Demetrio Cecchitelli Recorded and produced at Marzi Recording Studio, Italy Produced by NicoNote Dream Action

Italian-Austrian sound artist NicoNote (Music From Memory, Mille Plateaux, Rough Trade) presents new album, a conceptual work of hypnotic, immersive electronics & transcendent, experimental vocals: REGOLA inspired by the mythic medieval composer Hildegard von Bingen. REGOLA (Italian for ‘RULE’) is a record that calls for a contemplative form of deep listening, a time-dilating experience in which the polyphonic voices of NicoNote ascend, opening up a portal into an archaic, eternal past, where lost sounds coalesce with future revelations. Nine visionary and ritualistic soundscapes harnessing the voice as an instrument of transcendent expressive power; a visceral, timeless exploration of human natur ‘REGOLA’ is an enveloping masterwork that opens up an atemporal space for suspension, listening, and newly liberating states of mind.

‘'Vaporous vocals joined by gothic beats worthy of Dead Can Dance. [Nicoletta] Magalotti uses a gnarled, Diamanda Galás-like voce di strega (witch voice). The sound design is as rapturous as the poetry – cavernous & driving, swirling with gritty, industrial cosmic dust'' The Wire

This fusion between modern classical music and experimental electronica whips up a storm. The ambiance together with light airy vocals make the atmosphere much bigger then what you hear at first, overhead above the melodies of the electronic music is a wondrous humming that goes into overdrive.  There’s a warmth that lures out a cascade of emotions.’  Repartiseraren

‘The composition of ’REGOLA’ has a very high quality. From ‘REGOLA I’ the rhythmic pulse begins with rising bass waves.  The second movement uses field recordings and spoken word, ‘REGOLA III’ leaves enough space for the fade out, numbers five and six are almost pop-like, while track seven is the trippy climax’ The Gap Mag (A)

NicoNote is an alias created by Nicoletta Magalotti (I/A) in 1996, an artist active in the fields of music, theatre, art installations, radio and beyond. A researcher equally attuned to the club and the theatre, NicoNote is engaged in sound art and performance as well as storytelling and dramaturgy, and has amassed an extensive discography. Her vocal research is influenced by her encounters with teachers like Yoshi Oida, Gabriella Bartolomei, Roy Hart Theatre, Akademia Ruchu, François Tanguy. In mid-80s, she was the voice of Violet Eves, a band that played a prominent role in Italian new wave. She has collaborated with musicians including Enrico Gabrielli, Stefano Pilia, DJ Rocca, Wang Inc, Elisabeth Harnik, Howie B, Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop and more, and has worked with several directors including Romeo Castellucci / Socìetas Raffaello Sanzio, Patricia Allio, Maurizio Fiume, Fabrizio Arcuri, Francesco Micheli, Luca Scarlini and Silvia Costa. In the 90s, together with DJ David Love Calò, she created Morphine in Cocoricò, the first Italian chill-out room, a place of radical musical and performative experimentation. She has toured internationally and her output has been released on labels including Rizosfera, Rough Trade, Music from Memory, Mille Plateaux, DSPPR, Cinedelic and others. She conducts vocal masterclasses regularly and works with venues and institutions including Tempo Reale, Florence and Accademia Kataklò in Milan. Syntonic is her monthly show on Radio Raheem.NicoNote recently contributed to the experimental music theatre production 'Buffalo Gals, Won't You Come Out Tonight', based on Ursula K. Le Guin's eponymous utopian fable. Directed by Silvia Costa. Featuring music by the Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop ensemble alongside composers Andrea Belfi & Wojtek Blecharz. Performed at Radialsystem, Berlin.

photo: Valentina Solfrini 

PR: unsunghungermusic

[sarockradio]

GREG HART - ORBISON

“Orbison” tells the life story of Roy Orbison through his catalogue of unforgettable hits, Only the Lonely, Pretty Woman, You Got It, Crying, and many more…

With full backing band JUS-FA-FUN. State of the art sound & lighting.

Greg Hart delivers a show that is truly world class.

Date: Sat, 09 Mar

Time: 7pm

At: The GC - Grand Central at The Arts Theatre

Tickets:

https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/orbison-af2024

#greghart #RoyOrbison #TheArtsTheatre #adelaidefringe2024 #gigsinadelaide #gig

[adultfilmnyc]

Lauren Guglielmello is playing Mrs. Keeney in ILE by Eugene O’Neill.

Lauren is actor, writer, and producer. Originally from Massachusetts, trained at The Theatre School at DePaul University and Roy Hart Centre in France; performed at Lifeline Theatre, Mary Arrchie Theatre, and Redtwist Theatre in Chicago. Toured internationally with Invulnerable Nothings Co., Bloody Poetry; Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Walcott Chapel Arts (Bath), Festival OFF d'Avignon, Sekrit Theatre (Austin, TX), Brooklyn Art Library. Lauren's short film, Phases of the Moon, premiered at LA Femme Film Festival and garnered official selections in the 2020 festival circuit; Awards: Best 1st Time Screenwriter and Best Woman Filmmaker at the Vegas Movie Awards. Represented by Stein Entertainment Group. 

IG: lalalolla laurenguglielmello.com

[bdebandu]

o coletivo

O coletivo b de bandú é um grupo híbrido de artistas da cena, da música e de multimídia interessados no estudo da palavra e da voz, através de procedimentos de improvisação cênica e vocal trançados com materiais textuais poéticos. Composto por graduandos e pós-graduandos dos Departamentos de Artes Cênicas e de Música da ECA-USP e por pessoas da comunidade externa, o grupo se iniciou após uma oficina com a Profª Drª Paula Molinari (Universidade Federal do Maranhão). Desde então, foram realizados encontros semanais com o objetivo de desdobrar a pesquisa artística de Molinari acerca do método Roy Hart Vocal Theatre e de Alfred Wolfsohn, com uma abertura de processo realizada em 12 de dezembro de 2022.

Saiba mais sobre a origem do grupo, seus integrantes e colaboradores.

[saturdaynightlivedork]

How many of you remember these two American Girl books?

The first of these, Oops!: The Manners Guide for Girls, was one of my favorites as a kid. This was the page about introductions.

Notice the whimsical names. Squidge Mealy. Daisy Dogdish. Mr. Butterball.

But that’s not why I’ve gathered you all here today.

The book was reprinted several years later under the title A Smart Girl’s Guide to Manners.

This was the introductions page. It might look benign. But take a closer look.

Kander? Fred(dy) Ebb?

Lynn Fontanne? Al Lunt?

Sarah Vaugh(a)n? Ro(d)gers? Hart?

Gilbert? Art Sullivan?

Okay…WHO LET THE THEATER NERDS OUT?!

(Oh, yes, and there’s Roy Rogers, a Ms. Evans, Loretta, and Lynn too.)

[dweemeister]

Oklahoma! (1955)

Composer Richard Rodgers was in search of a new songwriting partner in the early 1940s. His previous partner, the lyricist Lorenz Hart, was devolving into an alcoholism that would soon claim his life. Wanting to transform Lynn Riggs’ rustic play Green Grow the Lilacs into a musical, Rodgers would find a new lyricist in Oscar Hammerstein II, who had not been involved in any Broadway successes for some time. Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1943 adaptation of Rigg’s play was Oklahoma! and – despite widespread predictions that Broadway audiences would only flock to modern, urbane works – it became the longest-running Broadway musical for another dozen or so years. It began one of the most fruitful, important, and accomplished musical theater partnerships in the medium’s history.

Interest in a cinematic treatment from Hollywood’s major studios for the first Rodgers and Hammerstein musical came almost immediately after the initial reviews for Oklahoma!, but the rights went not to a movie studio, but a film equipment start-up known as the Magna Theatre Corporation. Magna’s owners intended Oklahoma! as a test for the Todd-AO widescreen process (a rival to Cinerama), but more on that and the film’s unique distribution history – which involves RKO and 20th Century Fox – later. Most importantly, the lack of studio executives to appease meant that Rodgers and Hammerstein could have full control over the film’s structure and musical/narrative changes for this adaptation. Directed by Fred Zinnemann (1952’s High Noon, 1953’s From Here to Eternity) – an unorthodox choice, given his expertise for morally complex dramas and no musical experience – 1955’s Oklahoma! is a harbinger for the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical films to come, and an inextricable part of the duo’s legacy.

Somewhere in the Oklahoman countryside, amid corn as high as an elephant’s eye, is the clean-cut cowboy Curly McLain (Gordon MacRae). Curly is en route to the farmstead of his crush, Laurey Williams (Shirley Jones in her cinematic debut), and Laurey’s aunt, Aunt Eller (Charlotte Greenwood). There, Curly invites Laurey to the box social scheduled for later that evening. Annoyed that it took him this long to ask her out, Laurey decides instead to go the box social with the Williams’ antisocial and intimidating farmhand, Jud Fry (Rod Steiger). Elsewhere at the train station, another cowboy, Will Parker (Gene Nelson) might be singing about how much he was entranced by Kansas City, but he is searching for his sweetheart, Ado Annie (Gloria Grahame) – herself entranced by traveling salesman Ali Hakim (Eddie Albert in brownface).

No members of the original Broadway cast reprised their roles for this film, which also stars Barbara Lawrence and character actors James Whitmore, Jay C. Flippen, and Roy Barcroft.

As Curly, MacRae is like a Broadway stage version of the characters Gene Autry or Roy Rogers might have played in another decade. MacRae, who started his career as a Broadway and radio singer, had just run down the end of his contract with Warner Bros. (signed in 1947) when he appeared in Oklahoma!. At Warners, he starred in a number of musicals including Look for the Silver Lining (1949) and opposite Doris Day in On Moonlight Bay (1951), but he had only starred in a film adaptation of stage musical once before. MacRae, despite a long hiatus from the Broadway stage, is a natural here: charming and exuding a natural chemistry with co-star Shirley Jones. This exterior, however, is not without malice – as seen in the scene where Curly tries to influence Jud to commit self-harm. Cut from the same baritone cloth like contemporary Howard Keel (Frank Butler in 1950’s Annie Get Your Gun, Adam Pontipee in 1954’s Seven Brides for Seven Brothers), MacRae never achieved the popularity that other stage-to-screen musical stars of the ‘30s and ‘40s did (and, of course, Julie Andrews much later on).

The film’s surprise package for audiences in 1955 was in Shirley Jones. Jones, rather than subjecting herself to a vetting process by a director, casting director, or studio executives, was hand-picked by Rodgers and Hammerstein. Stunned by her 1953 audition for the premiere of South Pacific but wanting more experience for the then-nineteen-year-old, the songwriting duo kept Jones in mind for future productions and signed her on a contract (Jones was the first and only singer to be contracted to Rodgers and Hammerstein). With a few years of Broadway productions under her belt, Jones still came to Oklahoma! lacking an understanding on how to tailor sharper emotions to a film camera. With Fred Zinnemann’s assistance, she navigates Laurey’s light romantic comedy scenes and tumultuous friendship (if one can call it that) with Jud maturely – one could scarcely believe this is her cinematic debut. For Laurey, she accentuates the character’s naïveté, especially in respect to how she acts around men and romantic idealizations, without feeling grating or overacting (a common problem when approaching characters without much life experience) the part. Jones’ excellence in Oklahoma! would land her the lead in Carousel (1956), with other Hollywood hits in Elmer Gantry (1960) and The Music Man (1962) to follow.

As their artistic collaboration progressed, Rodgers and Hammerstein did not shy away from asking heavier questions in their musicals. Their first two projects, Oklahoma! and the musical film State Fair (1945) are relatively airy, flighty compared to their successors – the darkness of morality in Carousel, the racist beliefs of the lead character in South Pacific. Foreshadowing that later drama in successive musicals is the misanthropic (not just misogynistic) character of Jud Fry. Played by Rod Steiger, Jud is a villain without any redeeming qualities in the original musical. Steiger’s Jud remains a reprehensible character, but Steiger – as have most other actors who have played Jud in on stage in the decades since – positions Jud as more of a loner whose social ineptitude results in an unchecked covetousness over Laurey. To some reading that last sentence, that distinction between portrayals of Jud may not make any meaningful difference in one’s negative opinions about the character and his actions. Yet, Steiger’s portrayal of Jud – as sloppy, maladjusted, knowing little else about life other than farm work – is nevertheless a refinement on the character Rodgers and Hammerstein originally did not give much thought to.

Zinnemann’s dramatic tendencies needed moderation, as they sometimes threated to overshadow the musical features. Although, to Zinnemann’s credit, as a dramatist first, he imbues Oklahoma! with a dramatic fervor that came to define all Rodgers and Hammerstein musical film versions after it – something that one never received from the somewhat assembly line-like musical from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Fox. Oklahoma! was Zinnemann’s first widescreen film, as well as the first time he shot in color.  The emotional intensity of his earlier movies would be antithetical to the sweeping rural cinematography that he and cinematographer Robert Surtees (1959’s Ben-Hur, 1971’s The Last Picture Show) and Floyd Crosby (1931’s Tabu: A Story of the South Seas, 1960’s House of Usher) needed to capture. Zinnemann, Surtees, and Crosby offer sumptuous images of the Arizona countryside (Oklahoma’s oil wells proved too plentiful and distracting for the production) and the inviting blue sky that overhangs the cornfields sweeping across the land. With widescreen cameras rather new around 1955, the cameras wisely stay further back in interior scenes (shot at MGM’s studios in Culver City, California) with numerous people, directing our gaze centrally with brilliant blocking from the actors. The staging nevertheless feels like a stagebound musical during some interior scenes, like a lower-budget MGM musical with a trivial plot.

The widescreen cinematography, of course, was purposefully a showcase – see the shots of Gene Nelson spinning his rope directly towards the camera in “Kansas City” and the shot of an overly-excited auctioneer hammering their gavel and having the gavel nearly break the camera in another. Magna Theatre Corporation intended Oklahoma! to be a demonstration of their new Todd-AO 70mm process, in hopes of competing against Cinerama (which used three synchronized projectors at once on a curved screen). Because some theaters could not support the widescreen prints, two different versions of Oklahoma! exist: one in Todd-AO and another in CinemaScope (the latter a 20th Century Fox invention). This review is based on the Todd-AO print – which I recommend over the CinemaScope print – that currently is streaming on Disney+. Another note about the Todd-AO print: the first two films shot on Todd-AO 70mm – Oklahoma! and Around the World in Eighty Days (1956) – were shot in 30 frames per second (FPS) rather than the standard twenty-four. Thus, the Todd-AO print will appear slightly smoother in motion than most all other films, including modern ones.

Why 30 FPS for film screenings in 1955? Higher frames per second result in less noticeable light flickering and more dynamic colors (these effects for movies shot at higher FPS rates only apply to films shot on film stock, not digital). However, film projectors with a Todd-AO print would run hotter, requiring simultaneous cooling of the film while it ran through the projector. All subsequent films shot on Todd-AO reverted to the standard twenty-four frames per second.

Diehard musical fans often consider Fred Zinnemann’s Oklahoma! the most faithful – narratively, musically – of all the Rodgers and Hammerstein film adaptations. Deleted from Oklahoma! are two songs: Ali Hakim’s chauvinistic “It’s a Scandal, It’s a Outrage! [sic]” and Jud’s brooding “Lonely Room”. The former has among the least musical interest in the entire musical, but “Lonely Room” might have been a helpful source of characterization of Steiger’s Jud (the limited vocal range required for the song would suit Steiger). Otherwise, some of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s most iconic songs are present, starting with “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’”. Sung solo by MacRae on horseback (as opposed to being sung completely offstage in the original stage version), it serves the same purpose as the title song from The Sound of Music (1965) does. It establishes Curly’s character (mostly), and establishing the vast environs where the film takes place. The atmospheric opening shot of the camera moving through the corn and opening up into a grassy landscape might seem corny inane, but what a visual message it sends for one of the early widescreen American movies. Curly’s solo leads into “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top”, as he attempts to woo Laurey into accompanying him to the box social. A brief visual aside to allow viewers who do not know what a surrey looks like is a touch that a stage musical cannot provide, but this song – along with my choice of the best song in the musical, “People Will Say We’re in Love” (which gives MacRae and Jones a lovely duet with the production’s most romantic melodies) – exemplifies the rapport between MacRae and Jones and their two characters.

There remains charm aplenty across the musical score. Gene Nelson’s rendition of “Kansas City” is by no means essential to the plot of Oklahoma!, but it is a diverting number with some fancy footwork by not only Nelson (essentially the film’s comic relief and using a perfect, non-jarring voice for such a role), but Charlotte Greenwood and the scene’s extras as well. And then, arriving late, there is also the lively title song, delivered by MacRae with a similar energy as he employs for “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’”. “Oklahoma” became the official state song for Oklahoma in 1953, replacing a lesser-known song, “Oklahoma – A Toast”. Credit must also go to the extras and chorus for spearheading the song for its second half, as well as Robert Russell Bennett for his gorgeous (and definitive) vocal arrangement.

As its theatrical release drew near, details of the distribution of Oklahoma! would depend on which print a theater received. If a movie theater screened the Todd-AO 70mm print, Magna handled the distribution; if they showed the anamorphic CinemaScope 35mm print, the responsibility fell to RKO. RKO – the studio that gave audiences King Kong (1933), Citizen Kane (1942), and distributed all Disney movies until Rob Roy: The Highland Rogue (1954) – had fallen into turmoil by the mid-1950s and, by decade’s end, would be the first of the Big Five Hollywood studios to cease operations. The studio’s tyrannical owner, the eccentric Howard Hughes, disemboweled the studio from the inside out, and is a story for another day. Due to Hughes’ mismanagement, RKO withdrew from distribution and, in their place, came 20th Century Fox. Todd-AO and Fox shared theatrical and home media rights until Fox’s purchase by Disney in 2019; Todd-AO and Disney retain the split-ownership arrangement over Oklahoma!.

Though Oklahoma! is not usually part of most cinephiles’ and musical nerds’ pantheons of great Hollywood musicals, its contributions to the subsequent Rodgers and Hammerstein film adaptations are unmistakable. The duo’s closeness to numerous parts of the film’s production, the stunning widescreen cinematography, and the casting of actors with proven musical ability are hallmarks to be replicated, even in lesser adaptation such as South Pacific (1958) and Flower Drum Song (1961). For Rodgers and Hammerstein, they were so pleased from working with Fox that they continued to provide the rights to their musicals for all of their works’ adaptations with the exception of Flower Drum Song (which went to Universal). Like their work on Broadway, their best music and best movie adaptations of their musicals was yet to arrive. Oklahoma! marks a solid, healthy start to that run of adaptations, a hallmark of mid-century American moviemaking.

My rating: 7.5/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found in the “Ratings system” page on my blog (as of July 1, 2020, tumblr is not permitting certain posts with links to appear on tag pages, so I cannot provide the URL).

For more of my reviews tagged “My Movie Odyssey”, check out the tag of the same name on my blog.

[papermoonloveslucy]

TOO MANY GIRLS

October 8, 1940

Too Many Girls was an RKO film musical based on the stage musical of the same title. It was produced and directed by George Abbott, who had also directed the Broadway production. The music was composed by Richard Rodgers, the lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and the book was by George Marion, Jr. although the screenplay was adapted by John Twist. 

Too Many Girls opened on Broadway on October 18, 1939, at the Imperial Theatre, running to April 21, 1940, and transferred to the Broadway Theatre on April 22, 1940, closing on May 18, 1940. The cast featured Desi Arnaz, Diosa Costello, Marcy Westcott, Eddie Bracken, Richard Kollmar, Van Johnson, and Hal Le Roy. Musical Staging was by Robert Alton, scenery by Jo Mielziner, and costumes by Raoul Pène Du Bois.

The musical takes place in Skowhegan, Maine and Pottawatomie College in Stop Gap, New Mexico.

Synopsis ~ Connie Casey, an energetic celebrity heiress, wants to go to Pottawatomie College in Stop Gap, New Mexico, her father's alma mater, to be near her latest beau, British playwright Beverly Waverly. To protect her, and without her knowledge, her tycoon father sends four Ivy League football players as her bodyguards, Clint Kelly, Jojo Jordan, Manuelito and Al Terwilliger, who sign a contract with an ‘anti-romance’ clause. They also join the college's terrible football team, which immediately becomes one of the best in the country. Clint falls in love with Connie, but when she discovers he is her bodyguard, she decides to go back East. The bodyguards follow her, leaving the team in the lurch. The people of Stop Gap go after them, and they are brought back just in time for the big game. Connie declares her love for Clint, and he leads the team to victory.

PRINCIPAL CAST

Lucille Ball (Consuela ‘Connie’ Casey) was born on August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York. She began her screen career in 1933 and was known in Hollywood as ‘Queen of the B’s’ due to her many appearances in ‘B’ movies. “My Favorite Husband” eventually led to the creation of “I Love Lucy,” a television situation comedy in which she co-starred with her real-life husband, Latin bandleader Desi Arnaz. The program was phenomenally successful, allowing the couple to purchase what was once RKO Studios, re-naming it Desilu. When the show ended in 1960 (in an hour-long format known as “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”) so did Lucy and Desi’s marriage. In 1962, hoping to keep Desilu financially solvent, Lucy returned to the sitcom format with “The Lucy Show,” which lasted six seasons. She followed that with a similar sitcom “Here’s Lucy” co-starring with her real-life children, Lucie and Desi Jr., as well as Gale Gordon, who had joined the cast of “The Lucy Show” during season two. Before her death in 1989, Lucy made one more attempt at a sitcom with “Life With Lucy,” also with Gordon.

Desi Arnaz (Manuelito Lynch) was born in Santiago, Cuba on March 2, 1917. After leaving Cuba, he formed his own Latin band, and literally launched the conga craze in America.  It was on the set of Too Many Girls (1940) that he and Lucille Ball met. They soon married and approximately 10 years later formed Desilu Productions and began the “I Love Lucy” shows in 1951. Desi and Lucille had two children, Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. At the end of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” in 1960, the two divorced. He was diagnosed with lung cancer and died on December 2, 1986 at age 69.

Manuelito: “I'm not conceited. I am the greatest player in fifty years, but I'm not conceited.”

Richard Carlson (Clint Kelly) makes his first and last appearance with Lucy and Desi, although his wife, Mona, was featured as one of Don Loper’s models on “The Fashion Show” (ILL S4;E20) in 1955. 

Ann Miller (Pepe) had appeared with Lucille Ball in three films: Stage Door (1937), Having Wonderful Time (1938), and Room Service (1938). In 1954, she appeared with the Arnazes on “MGM’s 30th Anniversary Tribute”. 

Eddie Bracken (Jojo Jordan) makes his only screen appearance with Lucy and Desi, although he was part of the Broadway cast of Too Many Girls and was friends with the Arnazes off screen as seen in the above photo with Ann Miller and Lucy. 

JOJO: “Well, I'm not exactly wonderful, but I'm awfully attractive in a dynamic sort of way.”

Frances Langford (Eileen Eilers) makes her only appearance with Lucy and Desi. She worked extensively with Bob Hope on his USO tours. 

Hal LeRoy (Al Terwilliger) makes his only screen appearance with Lucy and Desi, although he was part of the Broadway cast of Too Many Girls. 

Libby Bennett (Tallulah Lou) makes her only screen appearance in Too Many Girls. She had also been seen in the Broadway stage production. 

Harry Shannon (Mr. Harvey Casey) appeared with Lucille Ball in 1942′s The Big Street. On “I Love Lucy” he played Jim White the photographer in “Men Are Messy” (ILL S1;E8) in 1951 (above center). Musical fans will remember Shannon as Rosalind Russell’s father in the 1962 musical film Gypsy.

Mrs. Teweksbury says Mr. Casey is one of the richest individuals in the country. He reportedly has $7.50 more than Henry Ford. He is Connie’s father and Chairman of Casey Conglomerated Industries.

Douglas Walton (Beverly Waverly) was a Canadian-born actor making his only appearance with Lucy and Desi. He played poet Percy Shelley in the film The Bride of Frankenstein (1935). He left film acting in 1950, before the advent of television. 

Beverley Waverly is a British playwright.  

Chester Clute (Lister) did four films with Lucille Ball before Too Many Girls and four after it. 

Lister is an alumni of Pottawatomie College, like his boss Mr. Casey.

Ivy Scott (Mrs. Tewksbury) was also in the stage production of Too Many Girls and only did one more film in Hollywood, Higher and Higher in 1943.

Mrs. Tewksbury is the proprietor of The Hunted Stag (or, as Mr. Lister calls it, The Stunted Hag), an Inn where the boys are waiters. 

Byron Shores (Sheriff Andaluz) makes his only screen appearance with Lucy and Desi. He was also seen in the stage production of Too Many Girls. His last film was in 1944. 

UNCREDITED FILM CAST

Iron Eyes Cody (Indian) made a career of playing Native American characters despite the fact that he was of Italian ancestry. He next worked with Lucy and in 1942’s Valley of the Sun, again as an American Indian character. He played an Eskimo in a 1959 episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour,” but is probably best remembered as the Indian that sheds a single tear in the ‘Keep America Beautiful’ ads that ran from 1971 to the 1980s.

Jay Silverheels (Indian) also played a Native American character in Valley of the Sun (1942) with Lucille Ball. He was best known for playing Tonto on “The Lone Ranger”.

Chief John Big Tree (Chief)  

Harry James (Orchestra Leader) also played himself in Lucille Ball’s Best Foot Forward in 1943. With his wife, Betty Grable, he was seen in “Lucy Wins a Racehorse” (LDCH S1;E4) in 1958. 

Van Johnson (Chorus Boy) was also seen with Lucy in the films Easy to Wed (1946) and Yours, Mine and Ours in 1968. He played himself on one of the most popular episodes of “I Love Lucy,” “The Dancing Star” (ILL S4;E27) and played both himself and a look-alike on “Here’s Lucy” in 1968. He was also a member of the Broadway cast of Too Many Girls. 

Johnson has only two lines of dialogue in the film but is often visible in group scenes.

Shep Houghton (Chorus Boy) made two other films with Lucille Ball and was seen in the background of two episodes of “The Lucy Show” and one episode of “Here’s Lucy.”  Houghton was one of the Winkie Guards in 1939’s The Wizard of Oz and a Southern Dandy in Gone With the Wind (1939). 

John Benton (Chorus Boy)

Mildred Law (Coed) appeared on “I Love Lucy” in “Return Home From Europe” (ILL S5;E26) playing a TWA flight attendant who attends to Lucy’s cheesy baby, Chester. This was her penultimate screen credit. 

Pamela Blake (Coed) also appeared uncredited with Lucille Ball in Stage Door (1937).

Amarilla Morris (Coed) was seen with Desi Arnaz in the 1942 film Four Jacks and a Jill as the girl in the revolving door. 

Other Coeds: Janet Lavis, Ellen Johnson, Vera Fern, Peggy Drake, Zita Baca, Anna Mae Tessle

Homer Dickenson (Mr. Casey's Butler) immediately followed this film with A Girl, A Guy, And A Gob (1941) also starring Lucille Ball.

Grady Sutton (Football Coach) from 1935 to 1945, Sutton did five films with Lucille Ball.

Dorothy Vernon (Faculty Extra) also did The Bowery (1933) and Valley of the Sun (1942) with Lucille Ball. 

Dan White (Faculty Extra) had a small role in the 1970 TV special “Swing Out Sweet Land” in which Lucille Ball voiced the Statue of Liberty. 

Others: Sethma Williams (Marie), Tommy Graham (Hawker), Averell Harris (Detective), Michael Alvarez (Joe)

WHEN LUCY MET DIZZY

Lucille Ball met Desi Arnaz for the first time at the RKO studio commissary, while Too Many Girls was in rehearsals. She was in full costume and make-up after performing a fight scene for another film, Dance, Girl, Dance (1940, above): she wore a slinky gold dress slit halfway up the thigh and sported a black eye. Arnaz was seated at the same table as director George Abbott, who introduced the two. Arnaz was not impressed by Ball, thinking she “looked like a two-dollar whore who had been badly beaten by her pimp." After the encounter, he asked Abbott to fire Ball from Too Many Girls, claiming she was “too tough and common for the role."  He also advised that her reputation as Queen of the B movies might negatively impact his much-anticipated film debut, advice Abbott thankfully ignored. 

“A Cuban skyrocket burst over my horizon!” ~ Lucy about Desi

“Those damned big beautiful blue eyes!” ~ Desi about Lucy 

That night, Arnaz was rehearsing “She Could Shake the Maracas" when Ball walked in, now wearing a yellow sweater and tight-fitting beige slacks. Not recognizing her, Arnaz turned to the piano player and whispered “Man, that is a honk of woman!"  The pianist reminded Arnaz of his earlier meeting with Ball. Lucille approached them to say hello. "Miss Ball?" Arnaz said, just to make sure that there was no mistake. "Why don't you call me Lucille? And I'll call you Dizzy." 

Lucy and Desi have very little interaction in the film, but when he sees Connie for the first time, he gets weak in the knees and falls to the ground, in awe of her beauty. Despite this, Manuelito’s romance is with Pepe, not Connie. History re-wrote that chapter!

TOO MANY SONGS!

Heroes in the Fall - Male Chorus

You're Nearer - Connie, Pepe, Eileen, and Tallulah Lou

Pottawatomie - Mr. Casey and Chorus

'Cause We Got Cake - Eileen and Chorus

Spic 'n' Spanish - Manuelito and Pepe

Love Never Went to College - Eileen

Look Out! - Eileen and Pepe

I Didn't Know What Time It Was - Connie, Clint, and Jojo

You're Nearer - Connie, Manuelito, Eileen, Pepe, and Tallulah Lou

Conga

Songs cut from the Broadway show: 

Tempt Me Not - Manuelito, Clint, and Chorus

My Prince - Connie

I Like To Recognize the Tune - Jojo, Connie, Eileen, Clint, and Al

The Sweethearts of the Team - Eileen

She Could Shake The Maracas - Pepe and Manuelito

Too Many Girls - Manuelito

Give It Back To The Indians - Eileen 

TOO MANY TRIVIA!

RKO paid $100,000 for the rights to the Broadway musical. 

Filming on Too Many Girls began on June 22, 1940.

Camerman Russell Metty briefly took over shooting for Frank Redman when Redman had to attend a funeral.

Uncredited performers Van Johnson and Harry James would go on to be two of the film’s biggest stars, except for Lucy and Desi, eclipsing many of the film’s principal cast like Hal LeRoy, Douglas Walton, and Libby Bennett. 

Lucille Ball’s vocals were dubbed by Trudy Erwin, one of Kay Kyser’s singers. 

Everyone imported from Broadway (except Hal LeRoy) was making their screen debut with Too Many Girls. 

After making the film, Van Johnson and Mildred Law returned to the Broadway production. Instead of chorus roles, Johnson assumed the role of Jojo (originated by Bracken) and Law now played Tallulah Lou, originated by Leila Ernest. 

On Broadway the character of Connie was originated by Marcy Wescott in her final Broadway stage role. 

TOO MANY REFERENCES!

Each of Connie’s bodyguards plays football for an Ivy League college: Yale, Harvard, and Princeton. Manuelito is still deciding on a college, but is considering Princeton, where Clint goes. There is talk about a contentious game that includes Princeton. In Lucille Ball’s radio show “My Favorite Husband” (1948), George Cugat (later Cooper) hopes his future son will play for Princeton, his alum. Coincidentally, Lucille Ball did two plays at Princeton University’s resident theatre company, McCarter: Hey Diddle Diddle (1937) and Dream Girl (1947).

One of the characters mentions movie star Ginger Rogers, one of the top female box office stars of the time. She was also a good friend of Lucille Ball having done five films together. Rogers’ mother Lela tajght acting classes at RKO, later inspiring Ball to create the Desilu Playhouse at Desilu Studios. Rogers played herself on a 1971 episode of “Here’s Lucy.” 

Mr. Casey compares his daughter Connie with Lucretia Borgia (1480-1519) was the illegitimate daughter of a pope and his mistress,  a famous beauty, notorious for the suspicious deaths and political intrigue that swirled around her. Today her name has become synonymous with a beautiful, but scheming woman who would stop at nothing - including murder - to get what she wants.  In 1949, Lucille Ball’s friend played Lucretia Borgia for Paramount in Bride of Vengeance.

Although Pottawatomie College and the town of Stop Gap are fictional, Pottawatomie is the name of a Native American tribe, although they were mostly found in the Great Lakes region, not in New Mexico. The Pottawatomie Massacre occurred from May 23 to May 26, 1856, resulting in the death of five pro-slavery settlers north of Pottawatomie Creek in Franklin County, Kansas. This was one of the many violent episodes in Kansas preceding the American Civil War.

 TOO MANY CRITICS!

Too Many Girls premiered on October 8, 1940 at Loew's Criterion Theatre in New York. Critical reviews were generally positive, although Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote that Too Many Girls was “a pleasant, light-hearted and wholly ingenuous campus film" but that director George Abbott "has permitted it to sag in the middle, at which point the thin spots baldly show. If the intention was to be impressive, it has failed. For 'Too Many Girls' is a simple, conventional rah-rah picture, without any place for pretense. And there is not enough to it, on the whole, for Mr. Abbott to squander dancers recklessly."

TOO FAST FORWARD

This film's earliest documented television presentations began in Los Angeles Tuesday May 8, 1956 on KHJ (Channel 9), much to the chagrin of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz who were embarrassed by it, and objected to its frequent showings to no avail.

In 1977, the music of Too Many Girls was rereleased on vinyl with performers Nancy Andrews, Johnny Desmond, Estelle Parsons, and Anthony Perkins! 

The film is referenced in “Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter” a 1991 TV movie about starring Frances Fisher (above) and Maurice Bernard, as well as “Lucy” (2003), another TV film in which Lucy (Rachel York) and Desi (Danny Pino) meet on the set; Desi in his football uniform and Lucy bruised from the filming of Dance, Girl, Dance.

Clips from the film are featured in Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie (1993).

[stockwellarchives]

Television Episodes

“The Wise in Heart” (1955)…(unknown) Front Row Center “Innocent Witness” (3/1956)…David Matinee Theater “Fight the Whole World” (6/1956)…(unknown) Matinee Theater “Class of ‘56” (7/1956)…(unknown) Matinee Theater “Horsepower” (10/1956)…Carl Mittelbach Matinee Theater “Julie” (12/1956)…(unknown) Schlitz Theater “Washington Incident” (12/1956)…(unknown) Men of Annapolis “Ship’s Log” (1957)…Midshipman Johnny United States Steel Hour “Victim” (7/1957)…George Curliss Climax! “Murder is a Witch” (8/1957)…Les Marshall Wagon Train “The Ruth Owens Story” (10/1957)…Jimmy Drew General Electric Theater “God is My Judge” (4/1958)…PFC John Townsend Wagon Train “The Juan Ortega Story” (10/1958)…Juan Ortega Cimarron City “Kid on a Calico Horse” (11/1958)…Bud Tatum General Electric Theater “Family Man” (2/1959)…Clete Playhouse 90 “Made in Japan” (3/1959)…Roy Riverlee Wagon Train “The Rodney Lawrence Story” (6/1959)…Rodney Lawrence Johnny Staccato “Nature of the Night” (10/1959)…Dave the Slasher Buick-Electra Playhouse “The Killers” (11/1959)…Nick Adams Checkmate “The Cyanide Touch” (10/1960)…Roddy Stevenson The DuPont Show with June Allyson “The Dance Man” (10/1960)…Johnny Perry Outlaws “Assassin” (2/1961)…Billy Joe Minden Alfred Hitchcock Presents “The Landlady” (2/1961)…Billy Weaver Wagon Train “The Will Santee Story (5/1961)…Will Santee Bus Stop “Afternoon of a Cowboy” (10/1961)…Buzz Shelby The Dick Powell Theatre “The Geetas Box” (11/1961)…Joe Geary The Twilight Zone “A Quality of Mercy” (12/1961)…Lt. Katell/Lt. Yamuri Alcoa Premiere “A Place to Hide” (5/1962)…Clay Bannon The Alfred Hitchcock Hour “Annabel” (11/1962)…David H. Kelsey/William Newmaster The Dick Powell Theatre “In Search of a Son” (11/1962)…Gary Harper Combat! “High Named Today” (5/1963)…Rob Lawson The Greatest Show on Earth “The Wrecker” (12/1963)…Harley Brydell The Defenders “Climate of Evil” (12/1963)…Arnold Foster The Eleventh Hour “To Love is to Live” (4/1964)…David Farnham Kraft Suspense Theater “Their Own Executioners” (4/1964)…Martin Rosetti Burke’s Law “Who Killed Lenore Wingfield?” (11/1964)…Jay Boy Calhoun Dr. Kildare “The Bell in the Schoolhouse Tolls for Thee, Dr. Kildare” & “Life in the Dance Hall” (9/1965)…Dr. Rudy Deveureux Dr. Kildare “Some Doors are Slamming”; “Enough La Boheme for Everybody”; “Now the Mummy”; & “A Pyrotechnic Display” (10/1965)…Dr. Rudy Devereux The Danny Thomas Hour “The Cage” (1/1968)…Bruno The F. B. I. “The Quarry” (10/1968)…Michael “Mike” Vincent Riley Thirty-Minute Theatre “Before Breakfast” (12/1968)…The Man Bonanza “The Medal” (10/1969)…Matthew Rush Mannix “A Step in Time” (9/1971)…Chris Townsend The F. B. I. “End of a Nightmare”/”Til Death Do Us Part” (10/1972)…Darryl Ryder Columbo “The Most Crucial Game” (11/1972)…Eric Wagner Mission: Impossible “The Pendulum” (2/1973)…Gunnar Maelstrom The Streets of San Francisco “Legions of the Lost” (4/1973)…Paul Thomas/Paul Cullen Night Gallery “Whisper”/”Whisper, Whisper” (5/1973)…Charlie Evans Great Mysteries “Unseen Alibi” (10/1973)…Jerry Police Story “Collision Course” (11/1973)…Ott Police Surgeon “Deadly Exchange” (6/1974)…Counselor Paul Madden The Streets of San Francisco “The Programming of Charlie Blake” (2/1975)…Charlie Blake Columbo “Troubled Waters” (2/1975)…Lloyd Harrington Three for the Road “The Trail of Bigfoot” (11/1975)…Ethan Crawford Cannon “The Hero” (11/1975)…Tom Longman Ellery Queen “The Adventure of the Blunt Instrument” (12/1975)…Cliff Waddell Police Story “Eamon Kinsella Royce” (2/1976)…Bennett McCloud “’Twas the Fight Before Christmas” (12/1976)…Pete Lancaster Tales of the Unexpected “No Way Out” (8/1977)…Richard “Dick” Ayres Greatest Heroes of the Bible “Daniel in the Lions’ Den” (11/1978)…Hissar Hart to Hart “Hart’s Desire” (11/1982)…James Francis The A-Team “A Small but Deadly War” (2/1983)…Police Officer Collins Simon & Simon “The Skeleton Who Came Out of the Closet” (3/1983)…Dr. Griss Miami Vice “Bushido” (11/1985)…Jack Gretsky Hunter “Bad Company” (1/1987)…Brother Harold Hobarts Murder, She Wrote “Deadpan” (5/1988)…Eliot Easterbrook The Twilight Zone “Room 2426” (2/1989)…Martin Decker Quantum Leap (season 1) (season 2, episodes 1-11) (3-5, 9-12/1989)…Admiral Albert “Al” Calavicci Quantum Leap (season 2, episodes 12-22) (season 3, episodes 1-10) (1-5, 9-12/1990)…Admiral Albert “Al” Calavicci Quantum Leap (season 3, episodes 11-22) (season 4, episodes 1-10) (1-5, 9-11/1991)…Admiral Albert “Al” Calavicci Quantum Leap (season 4, episodes 11-22) (season 5, episodes 1-11) (1-5, 9-12/1992)…Admiral Albert “Al” Calavicci Quantum Leap (season 5, episodes 12-22) (1-5/1993)…Admiral Albert “Al” Calavicci Burke’s Law “Who Killed the Beauty Queen?” (1/1994)…John Delaney Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman “The Rival” (2/1994)…Preston Carpenter Chicago Hope “Songs from the Cuckoo Birds” (5/1995)…Robert St. Clair Snowy River “Fathers and Sons” & “The Manly Art” (9/1995)…Professor Julius Waugh Nowhere Man “You Really Got a Hold on Me” (11/1995)…Gus Shepard The Commish “In the Shadows of the Gallows” (11/1995)…Robert Allardyce Can’t Hurry Love “I Never Cooked for My Father” (2/1996)…Vic Carlucci Ink “The Debutante” (4/1997)…Cy Tannon The Tony Danza Show “Pilot” (9/1997)…Frank DiMeo The Tony Danza Show “Wired” & “With Your Guest Host, Tony DiMeo” (10/1997)…Frank DiMeo The Tony Danza Show “The Milk Run” & “A Marriage Made in Miami” (12/1997)…Frank DiMeo It’s True! (see: Pilots) The Tony Danza Show “C’gar Face” & “Sue You” (7/1998)…Frank DiMeo The Tony Danza Show (7 unaired episodes)…Frank DiMeo The Drew Carey Show “Y2K, You’re Okay” (9/1999)…Hal First Monday “Family Affairs” (2/2002)…Senator Edward Sheffield First Monday “Right to Die” (3/2002)…Senator Edward Sheffield First Monday “Showdown” (4/2002)…Senator Edward Sheffield Star Trek: Enterprise “Detained” (4/2002)…Colonel Grat Stargate SG-1 “Shadow Play” (7/2002)…Dr. Kieran JAG “Critical Condition” (9/2002)…Senator Edward Sheffield JAG “Dangerous Game” (10/2002)…Secretary of the Navy Edward Sheffield JAG “Need to Know” (11/2002)…Secretary of the Navy Edward Sheffield JAG “The Boast” (11/2003)…Secretary of the Navy Edward Sheffield JAG “People vs. SecNav” (2/2004)…Secretary of the Navy Edward Sheffield JAG “Fighting Words” (4/2004)…Secretary of the Navy Edward Sheffield JAG “Retrial” & “Whole New Ball Game” (10/2004)…Secretary of the Navy Edward Sheffield Battlestar Galactica “Lay Down Your Burdens, pt. 1” & “Lay Down Your Burdens, pt. 2” (3/2006)…Brother John Cavil Battlestar Galactica “Occupation”; “Precipice”; & “Exodus” (10/2006)…Brother John Cavil Battlestar Galactica “The Eye of Jupiter” (12/2006)…Brother John Cavil Battlestar Galactica “Rapture” (1/2007)…Brother John Cavil Battlestar Galactica “Six of One” & “The Ties That Bind” (4/2008)…Brother John Cavil Battlestar Galactica “The Hub” (6/2008)…Brother John Cavil Crash “Los Muertos” (11/2008)…Frankie Navajo Battlestar Galactica “No Exit” (2/2009)…Brother John Cavil Battlestar Galactica “Islanded in a Stream of Stars”; “Daybreak, Pt. 1”; & “Daybreak, Pts. 2 and 3” (3/2009)…Brother John Cavil Enlisted “Vets” (3/2014)…Dan NCIS: New Orleans “Chasing Ghosts” (11/2014)…Tom Hamilton

[norikateatro]

Norikateatro’s Audio List! 💙

As of:  July 31, 2019 😄!

Please message me if you want an audio! Do not comment *If you want to trade with me that’ll be really cool!

Wicked: Chicago January 06, 2008 - Dan'yelle Williamson (Elphaba u/s); Kate Fahrner (Glinda u/s); Michael Seelbach (Fiyero); Peter Kevoian (The Wizard); K. Todd Freeman (Doctor Dillamond); Barbara Robertson (Madame Morrible); Summer Naomi Scott (Nessarose); Stanton Nash (Boq) Wicked 9 September 2008, 1NT Cast: Carmen Cusack (Elphaba), Katie Rose Clark (G(a)linda), Christopher Russo (u/s The Witch’s Father), Deedee Magno Hall (Nessa), Brad Weinstock (Boq), Myra Lucretia Taylor (Madame Morrible), Paul Slade Smith (u/s The Wizard), Clifton Hall (Fiyero) Wicked: San Francisco March 06, 2010 - Eden Espinosa (Elphaba); Libby Servais (Glinda s/b); D.J. Gregory (Fiyero u/s); Tom McGowan (The Wizard); Paul Slade Smith (Doctor Dillamond); Jody Gelb (Madame Morrible); Deedee Magno Hall (Nessarose); Etai BenShlomo (Boq) Wicked Broadway: March 3, 2013 Cast: Willemijn Verkaik (Elphaba), Alli Mauzey (Glinda), Kyle Dean Massey (Fiyero), Randy Danson (Madame Morrible), Adam Grupper (The Wizard), Catherin Charlebois (Nessarose), F. Michael Haynie (Boq), Tom Flynn (Dr Dillamond) Wicked: Broadway February 22, 2014 (Lindsay Mendez & Alli Mauzey’s Final Show) Lindsay Mendez (Elphaba), Alli Mauzey (Glinda), Kyle Dean Massey (Fiyero), Carol Kane (Madame Morrible), Tom McGowan (Wizard), Catherine Charlebois (Nessarose), Michael Wartella (Boq), Note: Lindsay, Alli, Kyle & Tom’s last performance. ​Wicked Mexico-June 20, 2014 Elenco: Viviana Barrera (u/s Elphaba), Cecilia de la Cueva (Glinda), Jorge Lau (Fiyero), Paco Morales (El Maravilloso Mago de Oz), Anahí Allué (Srita. Morrida), Marisol Meneses (Nessarosa), Sebastián Treviño (u/s Boq), Beto Torres (Dr. Dillamond), Emanuel Gáitan (Chistery). Viviana's first performance as Elphaba. Wicked: London  June 23, 2014 Cast: Emma Hatton (s/b Elphaba), Sophie Linder-Lee (s/b Glinda), Jeremy Taylor (Fiyero), Philippa Buxton (u/s Nessarose), Sam Lupton (Boq), Sue Kelvin (Madame Morrible), Martyn Ellis (The Wizard), Paul Clarkson (Dr. Dillamond). Wicked: Broadway ​January 27, 2015 Caroline Bowman (Elphaba), Kara Lindsay (Glinda), Matt Shingledecker (Fiyero), Tom McGowan (The Wizard), Kathy Fitzgerald (Madame Morrible), Alicia L. Albright (Nessarose u/s), Robin de Jesus (Boq) The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Broadway March 14th, 1975 (Soundboard) Cast:  Bill Miller (Brad Majors), Abigale Haness (Janet Weiss), Graham Jarvis (Narrator), Richard O'Brien (Riff Raff), Tim Curry (Dr. Frank-N-Furter), Jamie Donnelly (Magenta), Boni Enten (Columbia), Kim Milford (Rocky), Meat Loaf (Eddie/Dr. Scott)  Notes: This is a live recording made on March 14th, 1975 of the (very short-lived) Rocky Horror Show's original run at the Belasco Theatre on Broadway.   Cat 1991 México DF, México Cast: Marisol Arreola, Hector Arroyo, Simone Brook, Olivia Buzzio, Gabriel de Cervantes, Maru Dueñas, Cecilia Huerta, Javier Diaz Dueñas, Manuel Landeta, Armando Moreno, Enrique del Olmo, María del Sol, Fabiola Zepeda, Lenny Zundel.  Notes: Soundboard Recording  Missing Overture. This could be an audio rip from the DVD, but I'm not 100% sure. Cats London November 8th, 1995 Cast: Admetus/Macavity: Richard Armitage, Alonzo: Nunzio Lombardo, Bill Bailey: Daniel Crossley, Bombalurina: Vanessa Leagh-Hicks, Bustopher/Gus: Tony Timberlake, Carbucketty: Sandy Rass,  Cassandra: Deborah Shrimpton, Coricopat: David Olton, Demeter: Michele Hooper, Electra: Nicola Lee-Owens, Etcetera: Charlotte Peck, George/Rumpus: Steven Wayne,  Grizabella: Clare Burt, Jellylorum: Carrie Ellis, Jemima: Kimberly Partridge. Jennyanydots: Beth Robson (u/s), Mistoffelees: Thomas Paton,Mungojerrie: Ian Meeson, Munkustrap: Andrew Halliday, Old Deuteronomy: Graeme Lauren (s/b), Rumpleteazer: Vikki Coote,  Rum Tum Tugger: John Partridge, Skimbleshanks: Tommi Sliiden (u/s), Tantomile:  Tee Soo-Chan, Victor: John Stacey, Victoria: Sandra Kater ​Chicago: Broadway - 1975 8 Aug Cast-Liza Minelli (special temp. replacement - Roxie Hart), Chita Rivera (Velma Kelly), Jerry Orbach (Billy Flynn), Mary McCarty (Mama Morton), Barney Martin (Amos Hart) Cats 15 July 1998, Hamburg Cast: John Partridge (Munkustrap), Kristin Hölck (Grizabella), Stephan Drakulich (Old Deuteronomy), Ray Strachan (Rum Tum Tugger), Damian Kacperski (Mr. Mistoffelees), Lachlan Youngberg (Bustopher Mürr), Tanya Christensen (Gumbie Katz’), Marco Krämer (Skimbleshanks), Virginia Lilly (Rumpleteazer), Livio Salvi (Mungojerrie) Cats: Seoul, Korea  2008 Oct 16 Cast: 신영석 Shin Young Seok (Grizabella), 대성 Tae Seong (Rum Tum Tugger), 홍경수 Hong Kyung Soo (Munkustrap), 이희정 Lee Hui Jeong (Old Deuteronomy), 김보경 Kim Bo Kyung (Rumpleteazer), 강인영 Kang In Young (Mungogerrie), 강연종 Kang Yeon Jong (Gus), 정주영 Jeong Joo Young (Macavity), 유회웅 Yoo Hui Woong (Mr. Mistoffelees), 문병권 Moon Byung Gwon (Skimbleshanks), 왕브리타  Wang Brita (Jemima), 백두산 Baek Doo San (Alonzo), 이은혜 Lee Eun Hye (Jellylorum) Cats London: December 27th, 2014 Cats:  Broadway September 24th, 2016 Cast:  Leona Lewis (Grizabella), Tyler Hanes (Rum Tum Tugger), Ricky Ubeda (Mistoffelees), Nathan Patrick Morgan (Old Deuteronomy u/s), Eloise Kropp (Jennyanydots),  Callan Bergmann (Carbucketty u/s), Jeremy Davis (Skimbleshanks), Kim Faure (Demeter), Sara Jean Ford (Jellylorum), Lili Froehlich (Electra), Daniel Gaymon (Macavity),  Francesca Granell (Rumpleteazer  u/s), Christopher Gurr (Gus/Bustopher Jones), Andy Huntington Jones (Munkustrap), Kolton Krouse (Tumblebrutus), Jess Le Protto (Mungojerrie), Georgina Pazcougin (Victoria), Claire Camp (Cassandra u/s), Arianna Rosario (SIllabub), Ahmad Smmons (Alonzo), Christine Cornish Smith (Bombalurina), Corey Snide (Coricopat), Emily Tate (Tantomile), Sharrod Wiliams (Pouncival) Cats (1989 Original French Cast Recording) Cats (1991 Original Mexican Cast Recording)   Cabaret - Signature Theatre Washington DC - Date Unknown Cast: Wesley Taylor (Emcee), Barret Wilbert Weed (Sally), Gregory Woodell (Cliff), Rick Foucheux (Herr Schultz), Naomi Jacobson (Fraulein Schneider), Bobby Smith (Ernst), Maria Rizzo (Fraulein Kost) ​Carousel: 2018  Broadway Revival January 28th, 2018 (1st Preview) Cast: Joshua Henry as Billy Bigelow, Jessie Mueller as Julie Jordan, Lindsay Mendez as Carrie Pipperidge, Renée Fleming as Nettie Fowler, Alexander Gemignani as Enoch Snow, Amar Ramasar as Jigger, John Douglas Thompson as the Starkeeper, and Brittany Pollock as Louise Dear Evan Hansen:  Broadway - May 15, 2018 Cast: Taylor Trensch (Evan Hansen), ​Laura Dreyfuss (Zoe), Will Roland (Jared), Phoenix Best (Alana), Alex Boniello (Connor), Rachel Bay Jones (Heidi), Michael Park (Larry), Jennifer Laura Thompson (Cynthia) Notes: Alex's first show as Connor.   El Hombre de La Mancha (1969 Original Mexican Cast Recording) El Hombre de La Mancha (2017 Mexican Revival Cast Recording) Little Shop Of Horrors:  Broadway | September 16, 2003 DeQuina Moore (Chiffon), Trisha Jeffrey (Crystal), Carla J. Hargrove (Ronnette), Rob Bartlett (Mushnik), Kerry Butler (Audrey), Hunter Foster (Seymour), Michael-Leon Wooley (voice of Audrey II) ​Into the Woods National Tour (Fiasco Theater Production) 4/11/17 Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles Eleasha Gamble (Baker's Wife), Anthony Chatmon II (Lucinda/Wolf/Cinderella's Prince), Fred Rose (Mysterious Man), Darick Pead (Rapunzel's Prince/Florinda/Milky White), Bonne Kramer (Cinderella's Stepmother/Jack's Mother), Laurie Veldheer (Cinderella/Granny), Stephanie Umoh (The Witch), Patrick Mulryan (Jack/Steward), Evan Harrington (Baker), Lisa Helmi Johanson (Little Red Ridinghood/Rapunzel). *Includes BC/EFA Speech by Patrick Mulryan. Wicked (2016 Original Mexican Cast Recording)This was released by the official Mexican Page on Youtube. It’s a Soundboard recording of Wicked México. Sound is crystal clear, some of the songs have dialogue. Cast: Ana Cecilia Anzaldúa (Elphaba), Cecilia de la Cueva (Glinda), Jorge Lau (Fiyero), Marisol Meneses (Nessarosa). Adam Sadwing (Boq), Beto Torres (Dr. Dillamond), Anahí Allué (Senorita. Mórrida), Paco Morales (El Mago de Oz), Beto Díaz (Frexspar/ El Padre de Elphaba), Lizeth Navarro (Melena/ La Madre de Elphaba). Alicia Paola Sanchez (La Partera) Wicked - 2016.08.18 - International Tour Cast: Jodie Steele (Elphaba s/b), Elizabeth Futter (Glinda u/s), Steven Pinder (The Wizard/Dr. Dillamond), Bradley Jaden (Fiyero), Kim Ismay (Madame Morrible), Emily Shaw (Nessarose), Iddon Jones (Boq) notes: This was Elizabeth’s first show as Glinda! On Your Feet: Broadway April 1st, 2017 (Evening) Ana Villafañe (Gloria), Ektor Rivera (Emilio), Yassmin Alers (Gloria Fajardo u), Alma Cuervo (Consuelo), Amaris Sanchez (Little Gloria), Eduardo Hernadez (Young Emilio and others), Eliseo Roman (José Fajardo), Genny Lis Padilla (Rebecca) My Master: This show was great but there was a very drunk lady sitting next to me, she belted some of the lyrics to the songs! A Chorus Line:  Westchester Broadway Theatre February 3rd, 2018 (Evening) Cast: Drew Carr (Mike), Tiffany Chalothorn (Connie), Erika Conaway (Tricia), Joseph Cullinane (Greg), Kevin Curtis (Richie), Emma Degerstedt (Val), Brian Dillon (Larry), David Elder (Zach), Tim Fuchs (Al), Danielle Marie Gonzalez (Vicki),  David Grindrod (Roy), Michael John Hughes (Paul), Tyler Jimenez (Don), Emily Kelly (Maggie), Ashley Klinger Kristine), Joey Lucherini (Frank), Erica Mansfield (Cassie), Alexandra Matteo (Diana), Logan Mortier (Bobby), PJ Palmer (Mark), Lauren Sprague (Sheila), Kelsey Walston (Bebe), Caitlin Wilayton (Judy) My Master: This performance was wonderful, it had no intermission. Avenue Q 1999 Demos Anastasia: Broadway July 21, 2017 ( 8:00 PM) cast: Christy Altomare (Anya), Derek Klena (Dmitry), Mary Beth Peil (Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna), Ramin Karimloo (Gleb), John Bolton (Vlad Popov), Caroline O'Connor (Lily), Kathryn Boswell (Countess Gregory swing) My Master Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Broadway November 11th, 2017 (Evening) Cast: Christian Borle (Willy Wonka), Ryan Foust (Charlie Bucket), Kyle Taylor Parker (Mrs. Green), John Rubinstein (Grandpa Joe), Emily Padgett (Mrs. Bucket), Kristy Cates (Grandma Josephine), Madeleine Doherty (Grandma Georgina), Paul Slade Smith (Grandpa George), Mikey Winslow( Jerry u), Stephanie Gibson (Cherry), Kathy Fitzgerald (Mrs. Gloop), F. Michael Haynie (Augustus Gloop), Jared Bradslaw (Mr. Salt u), Emma Pfaeffle (Veruca Salt), Mr. Beauregarde (Alan H. Green), Violet Beauregarde (Trista Dollison), Michael Wartella (Mike TeaVee), Jackie Hoffman (Mrs. Teavee) (My Master) Miss Saigon:  Broadway January 14th, 2018 Cast: Eva Noblezada (Kim), Jon Jon Briones (The Engineer), Alistair Brammer (Chris), Katie Rose Clarke (Ellen), Nicholas Christopher (John), Devin Ilaw (Thuy), Dorcas Leung (Gigi) (Final Show) Mary Poppins: (2012 Mexican Cast Recording) Bianca Marroquin (Mary Poppins), Mauricio Salas (Bert), Catalina Farias (Winifred Banks), Paco Morales (George Banks), Daniela Meneses [?] (Jane Banks), Sebastián Gallegos[?] (Michael Banks) Andrés Elvira (Valentin), Mariano Bucio (Neleus), Alm Cristal (Mrs. Brill), Andrés Sáez (Robertson Ay), Laura Cortés (Ms. Andrew & Bird Woman), Sergio Carranza (Almirante Boom), Paloma Cordero (Mrs. Corry), Natalia Saltiel (Mrs. Lark), Vince Miranda, Eden Pintos, Marcela Nava, Alma Escudero, Yolanda Campos, Majo Perez, Julieta Martínez, Eduardo Ibarra, Carlos Pulido, Omar Rodríguez, Alexo Fergo, Antonio Mariscal, Alicia Paola Sánchez, Jose Sampedro, Kim Yañez, Raymundo Montoya, Óscar Hernández, Roberto Hernández, Cecilia Arias, Mariano Villarello, Marcia Peña, Ruben Plascencia, Lolo Jiménez. *Songs only. This was recorded from the soundboard from various dates throughout the run. Once on this Island: Broadway Revival January 22nd, 2018 Cast:   Hailey Kilgore (Ti Moune), Isaac Powell (Daniel), Tamyra Gray (Papa Ge), Lea Salonga (Erzulie), Norm Lewis (Agwe), Alex Newell (Asaka), Kenita R. Miller (Mama Euralie), T Oliver Reid (u/s Tonton Julian), Mia Williamson (Little Girl), Alysha Deslorieux (Andrea/Storyteller), David Jennings (Armand/Storyteller), Tyler Hardwick (u/s Beauxhommes/Storyteller). Frozen: Broadway March 4th, 2018- Cast: Alyssa Fox (s/b Elsa), Patti Murin, John Riddle, Jelani Alladin, Andrew Pirozzi, Greg HIldreth, Audrey Bennett, Brooklyn Nelson, Ann Sanders, James Brown III, Timothy Hughes, Olivia Phillip, Robert Creighton, Kevin Del Aguila Notes: Alyssa Fox’s debut as Elsa Chicago Broadway: April 1st, 2018 (Evening) Cast: Amra-Faye Wright (Velma), Charlotte d’ Amboise (Roxie), Brian O’ Brien (Fred Casey) , Evan Harrington (Amos) , Katie Mitchell (Liz), Pilar Millhollen (Annie), Donna Marie Asbury (June), Beth Johnson Nicely (Hunyak u/s), Angel Reda (Mona), Valerie Simpson (Matron “Mama” Morton), Chaz Lamar Shepherd (Billy Flynn), R. Lowe (Mary Sunshine), Jessica Ernest (Go-To-Hell Kitty)  My Master: Act 1 only (Ends towards the middle of Cell Block Tango) Kinky Boots: Broadway April 28th, 2018 Cast: Charlie Price (David Cook), Blaine Alden Krauss (Lola u), Cooper Lantz (Young Charlie), Jesús del Orden (Young Lola), Stephen Berger (Mr. Price), Eugene Barry-Hill (Simon Sr), Caroline Bowman (Nicola), Marcus Neville (George), Daniel Stewart Sherman (Don), Kirstin Maldonado (Lauren), Natalie Joy Johnson (Pat), Jake Odmark (Harry), Jennifer Perry (Trish), Ciarán Mccarthy (Richard Bailey), Adinah Alexander (Milan Stage Manager), Kevin Smith Kirkwood, Alfred Dalpino (u/s), Fred Odgaard, Kyle Post, Charlie Sutton, and Joey Taranto (Angels) My Master: Ciarán Mccarthy’s Broadway debut! Mean Girls: Broadway 6/17/2018 Cast: Erika Henningsen (Cady Heron), Becca Petersen (u/s Regina George), Ashley Park (Gretchen Wieners), Kate Rockwell (Karen  Smith), Barrett Wilbert Weed (Janis Sarkisian), Grey Henson (Damian Hubbard), Kerry Butler (Mrs. Heron/Ms. Norbury/Mrs. George), Rick Younger (Mr. Duvall), Kyle Selig (Aaron Samuels), Cheech Manohar (Kevin Gnapoor), Iain Young (u/s Mr Heron) Notes: Becca's Regina George debut Moulin Rouge: Boston Tryouts July 24th, 2018- Cast: Aaron Tveit (Christian), Karen Olivo (Satine), Danny Burstein (Harold Zidler), Sahr Ngaujah (Toulouse-Lautrec), Tam Mutu (Duke of Monroth), Ricky Rojas (Santiago), Robyn Hurder (Nini) Notes: Act I is pretty much the same but Act II has some changes. "Roxanne is now far more manic and powerful, Crazy/Rolling in the Deep has a much more desperate feel which makes the pain Christian and Satine feel much more obvious, and Come What May is restored in part to Satine's death scene." Be More Chill-​August 2, 2018 (Off Broadway) Will Roland (Jeremy Heere), George Salazar (Michael Mell), Stephanie Hsu (Christine Canigula), Jason Tam (The SQUIP), Katlyn Carlson (Chloe Valentine), Lauren Marcus (Brooke Lohst), Gerard Canonico (Rich Goranski), Tiffany Mann (Jenna Rolan), Britton Smith (Jake Dillinger), Jason "SweetTooth" Williams (Mr. Heere/Mr. Reyes/Scary Stock Boy) Once on this Island: Broadway Revival August 18th, 2018- 2:00 PM Cast:   Lauren Lott (Ti Moune), Isaac Powell (Daniel), Merle Dandridge (Papa Ge) Darlesia Cearcy (Erzulie), Quentin Earl Darrington (Agwe), Alex Newell (Asaka), Kenita R. Miller (Mama Euralie), Boise Holmes ( Tonton Julian), Mia Williamson (Little Girl), Anna Uzele (Andrea/Storyteller), David Jennings (Armand/Storyteller), and Daniel Yearwood ( Beauxhommes/Storyteller) My Master Notes: This was such an incredible show, I cried a lot! Wicked - Broadway December 1st, 2018 Cast: Jessica Vosk (Elphaba), Amanda Jane Cooper (Glinda), Ryan Mccartan (Fiyero), Jye Frasca (Boq), Kristen Martin (Nessarose), Nancy Opel (Madame Morrible), Kevin Chamberlin (The Wizard), Jamie Jackson (Dr. Dillamond), Michael Di Liberto (u/s Witch’s Father/Ozian Official), Lindsay Janisse (Witch’s Mother), Kathy Santen (Midwife), Dominic Giudici (Chistery), Ioana Alfonso, Larkin Bogan, Teneise Mitchell Ellis, Dominic Giudici, Dan Gleason, Josh Daniel Green, Jeff Heimbrock, Manuel I. Herrera, Courtney Iventosch, Lindsay Janisse, Britney Johnson, Katie Ladner, Marissa Lupp, Matt Meigs, Dashi Mitchell, Lindsay K. Northen, Jonathan Ritter, William Ryall, Kathy Santen, Hannah Shankman, Travis Taber, Jeremy Thompson (Monkeys, students, Denizens of the Emerald City, Palace Guards and Other Citizens of Oz)   User: dnc445 on Reddit’s Master Dear Evan Hansen - Broadway December 12, 2018 ​Cast: Roman Banks (u/s Evan), Lisa Brescia (Heidi Hansen), Mallory Bechtel (Zoe Murphy), Sky Lakota-Lynch (Jared Kleinman), Phoenix Best (Alana Beck), Alex Boniello (Connor Murphy), Garrett Long (u/s Cynthia Murphy), Michael Park (Larry Murphy) Roman Banks First Performance King Kong Broadway: December 13th, 2018- 2:00 PM Cast: Christiani Pitts (Ann Darrow), Eric William Morris (Carl Denham), Erik Lochtefeld (Lumpy), Rory Donovan (Captain Englehorn), Harley Jay (Barman), Casey Garvin (Fake Carl), John Hoche (Voice of Kong ) My Master: This show was really fun! James Retter Duncan (swing) and Nick Rashad Burroughs’ first show Wicked: Broadway  January 10, 2019 (Evening) Jessica Vosk (Elphaba), Brittney Johnson (u/s Glinda), Jake Boyd (Fiyero), Kevin Chamberlin (The Wizard), Nancy Opel (Madame Morrible), Jesse JP Johnson (Boq), Kristen Martin (Nessarose), Jamie Jackson (Dr. Dillamond), Michael Di Liberto as (u/s Witch's Father), Lindsay Janisse (Witch's Mother), Kathy Santen (Midwife). Master: thediaryofatheatrekid Notes: Brittney's debut as Glinda! She’s the first woman of color to portray Glinda on Broadway! Beauty and the Beast at WPPAC, White Plains, NY January 12, 2019 (Evening) Cast: Belle ( Erica Lustig), Beast (Ezekial Andrew), Gaston ( Tom DeMichele), Lefou (Robert Peterpaul), Maurice (David M. Beris), Lumiere (Patrick Pevehouse), Cogsworth (Brendan Doyle), Mrs. Potts (Paulette Oliva, Chip (Robbie Crandall),  Madame de la Grande Bouche (Katelyn Lauria) and Babette (Elizabeth Brady) My Master Wicked: Broadway March 30, 2019 (Evening) Cast: Laurel Harris (Standby Elphaba), Katie Rose Clarke (Glinda), Gizel Jimenez (Nessarose), Boq (Jesse JP Johnson), Fiyero (Ryan McCartan), Dr. Dillamond (Jamie Johnson), Madame Morrible (Nancy Opal), The Wizard (Michael McCormick), Witch's Mother (Sterling Masters), Witch's Father (William Ryall), Midwife (Kathy Santen), Chistery (Raymond Joel Matsamura) My Master Kinky Boots: Broadway April 7, 2019 (Last Show) Cast: Andy Kelso  (Charlie), J. Harrison Ghee (Lola), Carrie St. Louis (Lauren), Caroline Bowman (Nicola), Daniel Stewart Sherman (Don), Marcus Neville (George) Hadestown: Broadway July 9th, 2019 (Evening) Cast:  Reeve Carney (Orpheus), Eva Noblezada (Eurydice), Amber Gray (Persephone), Patrick Page (Hades), Andre De Shields (Hermes), Jewelle Blackman (Fate), Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer (Fate), Kay Trinidad (Fate), Afra Hines, Timothy Hughes, John Krause, Kimberly Marable, Ahmad Simmons (Workers Chorus) (My Master) Jesus Christ Superstar: July 8th 2019  Barbican Center (Regent's Park Production) Cast: Robert Tripolino (Jesus of Nazareth), Ricardo Afonso (Judas Iscariot), Sallay Garnett (Mary Magdalene), Matt Cardle (Pontius Pilate), Samuel Buttery (King Herod), Cavin Cornwall (Caiaphas), Nathan Amzi (Annas), Matthew Harvey (Peter), Tim Newman (Simon Zealotes) Graverobber’s Master Les Misérables:  London 13 July 2019 (Evening) CAST: Dean Chisnall: Jean Valjean, Bradley Jaden: Javert, Carley Stenson: Fantine, Elena Skye: Eponine, Toby Miles: Marius, Charlotte Kennedy: Cosette, Steven Meo: Thénardier, Vivien Parry: Madame Thénardier, Samuel Edwards: Enjolras Notes: The final show of the original production of Les Misérables. Includes Dean Chisnall's speech. Please gift this audio upon ​request. Instrumentals: A Chorus Line US Tour  Pit Tracks Cats Instrumental Tracks (Mortifer) A lot of the tracks are synthesized, sounds like someone took a lot of karaoke tracks and put them together with orchestra but they’re some great tracks. Cats Mexico 1991 Orchestra Tracks (Teatro Silvia Pinal) ​ ​ Cats Backing Tracks (Midi) The Wizard of Oz Orchestra Tracks (RSC’ 1981) Les Mis US Tour Orchestra Tracks ​Wicked Orchestra Tracks Notes: This album is given to cast members when they first get cast in the show. People say this orchestration is the First National Tour one but it really isn’t, it sounds much more like the LA orchestrations. Perfect quality, includes every musical interlude, underscore, song, etc.

Audio Wants: Audio of the current run of Cats in Mexico, any production of Cabaret. Anything with Wicked, Cats México or Argentina, Dear Evan Hansen, Hadestown, Once on this Island, The Wizard of Oz, and anything I don’t have!

[whatilistenedtoatwork]

From September 8th to September 16th, 2022

08-09-22

THE MAGNETIC FIELDS “69 Love Songs”; THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS “The Spine”; RADIOHEAD “The Bends”; THE CURE “Pornography”; ADD N TO (X) “Live At El Mocombo”; R.E.M. “Collapse Into Now”; UNDERWORLD “dubnobasswithmyheadman”; KANYE WEST “Late Orchestration”; THE CORAL “Magic & Medicine”

12-09-22

THE WATERSONS “The Watersons”; DEXY’S MIDNIGHT RUNNERS “Searching For The Young Soul Rebels”; AFRO CELT SOUND SYSTEM “Volume 2: Release”; HALF MAN HALF BISCUIT “This Leaden Pall”; SALT’N PEPA “Hot, Cool & Vicious”; ENYA “Watermark”; LOU DONALDSON “Blues Walk”; PUBLIC ENEMY “Yo! Bum Rush The Stage”; THE CLASH “Combat Rock”; QUEEN “A Night At The Opera”; THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS “Push The Button”; VARIOUS ARTISTS “Mojo Presents… The Roots Of Led Zeppelin”; JACKIE OATES “The Violet Hour”; DEXY’S MIDNIGHT RUNNERS “Too-Rye-Ay”; P.J. HARVEY “Let England Shake”

13-09-22

PENGUIN CAFÉ ORCHESTRA “Concert Program”; ETTA JAMES “At Last”; THE TEMPTATIONS “Anthology”; ELIZA CARTHY & NORMA WATERSON “Gift”; VARIOUS ARTSTS “Heavy Soul”; BELLE AND SEBASTIAN “Push Barman To Open Old Wounds”; JAMES “Laid”; RADIOHEAD “Kid Amnesiae”; METALLICA “Metallica”; THE BOYS OF THE LOUGH “The Boys Of The Lough”; THE PROCLAIMERS “Sunshine On Leith”

14-09-22

ELLA FITZGERALD “…Sings The Rodgers & Hart Songbook, Vol. 1”; GUNS’N’ROSES “Use Your Illusion II”; VARIOUS ARTISTS “Big Beat Elite”; DOLLY PARTON “Coat Of Many Colours”; GOLDFRAPP “Supernature”;  MONTY PYTHON “The Monty Python Matching Tie & Handkerchief”; MEAT PUPPETS “Meat Puppets II”; PUBLIC ENEMY “It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back”; STEELEYE SPAN “Back In Line”

15-09-22

T.REX “T.Rex”; CAN “Delay 1968”; ARETHA FRANKLIN “Aretha Arrives”; NIC JONES “The Noah’s Ark Trap”; THE WATERSONS “A Yorkshire Garland”; THE BLUETONES “Expecting To Fly”; THE BLACK CROWES “The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion”; FRANK BLACK & THE CATHOLICS “Black Letter Days”; ELLA FITZGERALD “Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Rodgers & Hart Songbook, Vol. 2”; ROY BAILEY “New Bell Wake”; RANDY NEWMAN “Good Old Boys”; THE HOUSE OF LOVE “The House Of Love [1990]”; AUTECHRE “Amber”; SLEAFORD MODS “The Originator”; CHUMBAWAMBA “Anarchy”

16-09-22

NIRVANA “Community World Theatre, Tacoma 19-03-88”; THE WATERSONS “Frost& Fire: A Calendar Of Ritual & Magical Songs”; ENYA “Shepherd Moons”; VARIOUS ARTISTS “Mojo Presents… The Roots Of Nirvana”; L7 “Bricks Are Heavy”; LED ZEPPELIN “Led Zeppelin II”; ALICE COOPER “Hey Stoopid”; MOTORHEAD “Ace Of Spades”; IGGY POP “Lust For Life”; BIG DADDY KANE “Looks Like A Job For…”; OASIS “The Masterplan”; PULP “His’N’Hers”; RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE “Rage Against The Machine”

[tina-aumont]

This photo is taken in 1978 and shows the actors and actresses from Roy Hart Theatre in Malerargues, the South of France, where the company moved in 1974.

In the bottom part of the stairs we can see a brunette with short hair and great smile who I'm positive it's María Montez II, however in this page (she is labeled with number 36) she is identifyed as Maria Mirren. Can it be possible she was married to a Mirren hence the change of surname?

Anyway, enjoy the photos, more will come very soon!!

[niconote]

DARE VOCE Focus: Training e Parola un pomeriggio di Workshop con NicoNote • Domenica 1/12 @ Lo Studio Spaziale BOLOGNA

DARE VOCE Focus su Training e Parola un pomeriggio di Workshop condotto da NicoNote

domenica 1 dicembre, h. 14.00 – 19.00

Lo Studio Spaziale, Via F. Albani 1/7 A Bologna

costo: 50 €

Info e iscrizioni: scrivi una mail a  relazioni.niconote@gmail.com con oggetto:  Workshop 1 dicembre Bologna

deadline iscrizione: 22 novembre 

posti limitati

minimo iscritti 4

massimo iscritti 12

DARE VOCE / Focus su Training e Parolaun pomeriggio di Workshop sulla Voce condotto da NicoNote

Rivolto a tutti coloro interessati alla VOCE. NicoNote propone un pomeriggio di studio che prende le mosse dalle sue pratiche e il suo training e processo di messa in voce. Un pomeriggio di lavoro sulla Voce e sulla Parola, con momenti di pratica fisica e momenti di riflessione teorica e di esemplificazioni pratiche.

La ricerca vocale di NicoNote alias Nicoletta Magalotti sintetizza 40 anni di lavoro sulla VOCE nella pratica teatrale e musicale, nell’ incontro con maestri tra i quali Gabriella Bartolomei, Yoshi Oida, Roy Hart Theatre, Akademia Ruchu, Tiziana Ghiglioni, Francois Tanguy, nello sviluppo di un percorso artistico e didattico personalissimo. Un approccio alla Voce che abbraccia la tecnica vocale a 360° mutuando pratiche e studi sulla vocalità provenienti da diversi mondi musicali, teatrali, performativi fino a pratiche di meditazione sonora.

NicoNote propone un percorso che offre indicazioni sulle tecniche e fa luce sulle personali possibilità dei singoli, senza guardare il fatto vocale con agonismo e tensione.

Respiro Lo spazio Il qui e ora Ascoltare Sentire  Deep listening Parola Ritmo drammatico Gioco La condivisione Prendersi tempo

NicoNote (It/A) alias artistico creato nel 1996 da Nicoletta Magalotti  Sound poetry artist, autrice, performer e cantante. Agisce nei territori di musica, teatro, installazioni, clubbing, radiofonia, con produzioni artistiche e curatele – la sua identità artistica sta proprio nella ibridazione dei linguaggi. La sua ricerca vocale si intreccia all’incontro con maestri quali Yoshi Oida, Gabriella Bartolomei, Roy Hart Theatre, Akademia Ruchu, Tiziana Ghiglioni, François Tanguy. Tra 1984 e 1988 è la voce dei Violet Eves, band protagonista della new wave italiana con Litfiba, Diaframma, Moda, Underground Life, molto amata da Pier Vittorio Tondelli. Come musicista e cantante ha collaborato con artisti di estrazione molto diverse – come Patrizio Fariselli, Mauro Pagani, Teresa De Sio, Mauro Sabbione, Piero Pelù e Andrea Chimenti, Ghigo Renzulli, Roberto Terzani, Antonio Aiazzi, Mas Collective, Mikael Plunian, Luca Bergia, Davide Arneodo, Massimo Zamboni, Enrico Gabrielli, Stefano Pilia, Dj Rocca, Extraliscio, Elisabeth Harnik, Howie B, Klemens Hannigan, Leifur BjörnssonPaolo Cattaneo, Andrea Belfi, Woytek Blecharz, Solistenensemble Kaleidoscop e altri. Ricercatrice trasversale e non definibile, frequenta i club quanto i teatri, senza alcun pregiudizio: negli anni ‘90, al Cocoricò, crea il Morphine con il dj David Love Calò, realizzando la prima chillout room italiana, luogo di radicali sperimentazioni musicali e performative. È stata diretta più volte da registi quali Romeo Castellucci e Socìetas Raffaello Sanzio, Patricia Allio, Maurizio Fiume, Fabrizio Arcuri, Silvia Costa, fino al teatro musicale di Francesco Micheli e allo Storytelling con Luca Scarlini, NicoNote si è dedicata in parallelo alla realizzazione di drammaturgie e performance sonore sovente diventate produzioni discografiche. Autrice di un’avventurosa discografia, è stata protagonista di tournée musicali e teatrali in Europa, Canada, Argentina, Brasile. Negli ultimi anni ha pubblicato su Music from Memory, Mille Plateaux, DSPPR, Cinedelic e altre. Realizzato con il produttore Wang Inc. per Rizosfera / Rough Trade, l’album “Limbo Session Vol I” è stato tra i 10 migliori album del 2021 per la rivista Blow Up. È una voce del progetto Donnacirco ( La Tempesta dischi) . Conduce regolarmente masterclass sulla vocalità e collabora con Tempo Reale Firenze, Accademia Kataklò Milano.  Recentemente NicoNote ha contribuito allo spettacolo di teatro musicale sperimentale "Buffalo Gals, Won't You Come Out Tonight", basata sull'omonima favola utopica di Ursula K. Le Guin. Regia di Silvia Costa e musiche di Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop e dei compositori Andrea Belfi e Wojtek Blecharz. Prodotto e rappresentato a Radialsystem Berlino, luglio 2024. In uscita nel settembre 2024 REGOLA suite in 9 quadri ispirata a Hildegard von Bingen, concept album elettronico immersivo, vinile e digitale su etichetta NIM New Interplanetary Melodies /Big Doings. Syntonic è il suo programma mensile su Radio Raheem.

imamgine: Volto che canta / Marco Mazzoni

[artistsletterontrumpandjeru-blog]

Over one hundred artists write on Trump and Jerusalem

Image: Ahmad Gharabli / AFP The Guardian reports (10th December) President Macron’s comment that recent US moves on the status of Jerusalem are a threat to peace. They are much more than that.

In recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Donald Trump seeks to achieve through a declaration what Israel has been trying to do for fifty years through force of arms: to erase Palestinians, as a political and cultural presence, from the life of their own city.

The Palestinian people of Jerusalem are already subject to municipal discrimination at every level, and a creeping process of ethnic cleansing. In addition to the continuing policy of house demolitions, in the last fifteen years, at least thirty-five Palestinian public institutions and NGOs in occupied East Jerusalem have been permanently or temporarily closed by the occupying forces. Cultural institutions have been a particular target.

At the same time Israeli authorities and entrepreneurs have spent millions in clearing Palestinian neighbourhoods to create ‘heritage’ projects that promote a myth of mono-ethnic urban identity, said to stretch back 3000 years.

We reject Trump’s collusion with such racist manipulation, and his disregard for international law. We deplore his readiness to crown the Israeli military conquest of East Jerusalem and his indifference to Palestinian rights.

As artists and as citizens, we challenge the ignorance and inhumanity of these policies, and celebrate the resilience of Palestinians living under occupation.

Khalid Abdalla, actor Tunde Adebimpe, musician Peter Ahrends, architect Hanan Al-Shaykh, writer Tayo Aluko, actor, playwright Frankie Armstrong, musician Jonathan Arndell, architect Conrad Atkinson, visual artist Rory Attwell, musician, producer Phyllida Barlow, visual artist Roy Battersby, film director Sarah Beddington, visual artist Yves Berger, painter Nicholas Blincoe, writer Nick Broomfield, film director David Calder, actor Julie Christie, actor Caryl Churchill, playwright Norma Cohen, actor, writer Joseph Coward, writer, singer Molly Crabapple, writer, artist Darren Cullen, artist Michael Cunningham, writer Selma Dabbagh, writer William Dalrymple, writer, historian Michael Darlow, director Angela Davis, writer Dror Dayan, filmmaker April de Angelis, playwright Andy de la Tour, actor Ivor Dembina, comedian Shane Dempsey, theatre director Olof Dreijer, musician Zillah Eisenstein, author Sally El Hosaini, screenwriter, director Brian Eno, musician Eve Ensler, playwright Samir Eskanda, musician Jodie Evans, author, producer Marcia Farquhar, artist Jem Finer, artist Annie Firbank, actor Peter Gabriel, musician Tom Gilroy, actor, director Orlando Gough, composer Stephanos Gouvianakis, DJ Trevor Griffiths, playwright Douglas Hart, musician, director Mona Hatoum, visual artist Rachel Holmes, writer Ian Ilavsky, label co-founder Aki Kaurismaki, film director John Keane, visual artist Peter Kennard, artist AL Kennedy, writer Nancy Kricorian, writer Hari Kunzru, writer Paul Laverty, screenwriter James Lecesne, actor Mike Leigh, writer, director Tom Leonard, poet Les Levidow, violinist Ken Loach, film director Carmen Lobue, actor Liz Lochhead, poet, playwright Billy Lunn, musician Charlotte Marionneau, musician Kika Markham, actor Francesca Martinez, comedian, actor Massive Attack, band Ahmed Masoud, writer, director Hisham Matar, writer Emel Mathlouthi, musician Mark Matousek, writer Julian Maynard Smith, artist, director JD Meatyard, musician Pauline Melville, writer, actor China Miéville, writer Simon Milner, musician Thurston Moore, musician Tom Morello, musician Jenny Morgan, filmmaker Rosalind Nashashibi, artist Harry Newman, actor Christopher Norris, philosopher, writer Andrew O'Hagan, writer Eugene O'Hare, actor Kate Parker, producer Maxine Peake, actor Miranda Pennell, filmmaker Tonya Pinkins, actor Vijay Prashad, writer John Robb, musician, writer Michael Rosen, poet Mark Ruffalo, actor Kareem Samara, musician Lias Saoudi, musician Ian Saville, magician James Schamus, screenwriter, producer, director Nick Seymour, musician Nabil Shaban, actor, writer Khaldoun Shami, filmmaker Yasmin Shariff, architect Farhana Sheikh, writer Sheikh, band Kevin Shields, musician Gillian Slovo, writer John Smith, visual artist Ahdaf Soueif, writer Juliet Stevenson, actor Tilda Swinton, actor Yanis Varoufakis, author Naomi Wallace, playwright Marina Warner, writer Roger Waters, musician Hilary Westlake, theatre director Vivienne Westwood, designer whenyoung, band Don Wilkie, label co-founder Susan Wooldridge, actor, writer Robert Wyatt, musician

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/11/artists-attack-trump-over-jerusalem-move

[citizenscreen]

During last year’s Christmas break, which happened to be just days after the What a Character! Blogathon, I settled in to watch episodes of The Gertrude Berg Show and found myself laughing aloud. A lot. The Berg Show, which was originally titled Mrs. G Goes to College, is about a widow who goes to college after her children are grown. The situation comedy, which only lasted from 1961 to 1962, also featured the goings on in the building where Sarah Green lives. Green (aka Mrs. G), played by the talented Gertrude Berg, has daily exchanges with Cedric Hardwicke who plays Professor Crayton, another tenant in the building, and landlady Winona Maxfield played by Mary Wickes. By the end of the first episode of The Gertrude Berg Show, I’d decided who my actor of choice would be for this year’s What a Character! Blogathon.

Mary Wickes was born Mary Isabella Wickenhauser in St. Louis, Missouri on June 13, 1910. Mary was the only child of doting parents, Frank and Isabella Wickenhauser. Her upbringing was one of homespun values in a well-to-do household. Mary described her parents as civic-minded people who loved people, which resulted in Mary’s interests outside of acting. She remained close to her parents always.

On April 12, 1988, Mary Wickes returned to her alma mater, Washington University in St. Louis to deliver a speech in honor of a close friend and former dean. In the speech Mary talked about the importance of her “bedrock values” and about her career. “I am very proud of my profession, ” she said, “I am proud of the tradition and I can’t imagine doing anything but being an actress.”

If you can tell anything from watching Mary Wickes’ work it’s that she enjoyed doing it. That enjoyment coupled with her talent made her one of Hollywood’s most accomplished character actors. Interestingly, her story is not one of those where the entertainer dreamed of entertaining from an early age. Wickes recalled in the Washington U. speech that her parents loved the theater and that she was taken to see shows since she was very young. Mary went on to say that her reaction to watching shows was rather strange, “If anything was terribly funny, or just wonderful – the leading lady wore beautiful evening clothes and the scene just went so beautifully – I would cry.” Clearly, she was moved, but it still never occurred to her that she would become an actor at that early age. Her interests were varied. She majored in Political Science and joined every club imaginable including the debate team, which she enjoyed immensely. It wasn’t until her junior year that acting became a possibility when one of her professors suggested she go to an open audition at a local theater. Mary auditioned and got the part and at the end of the production, the director asked Mary to join his summer theater troupe to see how she would stack up opposite professional actors. He also suggested she might want to change her name because Mary Isabella Wickenhauser would not likely fit on a marquee. The task of figuring out what she wanted her stage name to be proved one of the few she would ever fail at. She simply couldn’t think of one. But when the publicity materials for her first play had to be printed Wickenhauser received a wire that read, “Your name will be Mary Wickes for the season.” And it stayed that way forever.

Mary’s expressive face served her well and entertained millions

Mary Wickes went on to appear in over 200 productions in summer stock and regional theater. Her love of the stage lasted her entire career and she would travel to New York between movies for decades. Through the years she dazzled audiences in revivals of “The Wizard of Oz” wherein she played Miss Gulch/The Wicked Witch of the West, “Damn Yankees,” “Arsenic and Old Lace,” and “Oklahoma!” – all of which I would have killed to see.

While we’ve come to recognize Mary Wickes simply by the types of characters she played in movies and television, her stage credits demonstrate quite the acting range. She was prone to playing comedic roles that demanded more than the occasional deadpan delivery she excelled at. Orson Welles thought so too as he recruited her to be part of his famed The Mercury Theatre and cast her in his production of “Too Much Johnson” in 1938. A few years ago footage previously thought lost was discovered of this production to include prologues. I would love to get a look at that too.

Howard Smith, Mary Wickes, Orson Welles, Virginia Nicolson, William Herz, Erskine Sanford, Eustace Wyatt and Joseph Cotten outside the Stony Creek Theatre during the two-week run of the Mercury Theatre stage production of Too Much Johnson (August 16–29, 1938)

Mary’s entrance onto The Great White Way was as smooth as her start as an actor. Wickes was in New York for less than a week in 1934 when she secured a part as understudy to Margaret Hamilton in “The Farmer Takes a Wife” starring Henry Fonda. As Steve Taravella explains in his fantastic 2016 biography, Mary Wickes: I Know I’ve Seen That Face Before, “The Farmer Takes a Wife” tried out in Philadelphia where Mary was asked to go on for Margaret Hamilton for the first matinée. That usually happens only once in…pretty much never. It was most certainly a sign as the Variety critic happened to attend that very performance and opined that Mary Wickes was “more than okay.”

Among her other notable Broadway shows are Philip Barry’s “Spring Dance” and Kaufman and Edna Ferber‘s “Stage Door,” the first of five Kaufman plays in which she originated parts and her first Broadway hit. Kaufman later called her his favorite comedienne. Mary Wickes adored working with George S. Kaufman and would forge a life-long friendship with the Kaufman family.

Mary’s signature stage role was in the original Broadway production of the Moss Hart-George S. Kaufman comedy, “The Man Who Came to Dinner” in 1939. She played the nurse, Miss Preen in hilarious fashion opposite the show’s star, Monty Woolley. She and Woolley reprised their roles in William Keighley’s film version in 1942. In 1972, Mary played Miss Preen again in a TV version directed by Buzz Kulik. Orson Welles played Sheridan Whiteside (the Woolley role) in that production.

Miss Preen cemented one of Mary signature character roles

Mary Wickes, Orson Welles, Lee Remick, Edward Andrews. Don Knotts in the 1970 TV version of The Man Who Came to Dinner

Wickes and Woolley in the 1942 movie version of The Man Who Came to Dinner

Steve Taravella dedicates an entire chapter of his Wickes biography to Miss Preen, also known as “Miss Bedpan.” He explains how the success of the show, which ran for more than 700  performances, facilitated Broadway connections that helped Mary her entire career. And of course Miss Preen also cemented one of her signature character roles – the scene-stealing nurse. The movie version of The Man Who Came to Dinner was as successful as the play and it resulted in Mary becoming a favorite of directors, co-stars and audiences. And all because of a relatively small part opposite major screen gravitas also known as Bette Davis with whom Mary made three pictures. Given the popularity of Miss Preen it’s no wonder Mary Wickes was asked to bring other nurses to life on screen with the most popular example in our circles being nurse Dora Pickford in Irving Rapper’s Now, Voyager (1942). Mary’s depiction of Dora is particularly important because she provides the only comic relief in an otherwise very serious movie. Anyone familiar with Now, Voyager has probably recognized that making people smile playing opposite Gladys Cooper‘s Mrs. Vale could not have been an easy task.

Imagine being tasked with cheering this place up!

If one is to describe Mary Wickes’ overall specialty it was playing the prim, sarcastic woman who looked down her nose at those who failed to meet her standards. Her characters were either professional women like secretaries (and nurses) or smart-alecky commoners, which brings me to yet another of her staples – the housekeeper. The movies that come to mind where she plays a domestic are Roy Del Ruth’s On Moonlight Bay (1951) and its sequel, David Butler’s By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953). These delightful family musicals feature Leon Ames, Rosemary De Camp, Billy Gray and Doris Day who make up the Winfield family and Mary Wickes as their maid, Stella. Gordon MacRae also stars in both as William Sherman who falls in love with Doris’ Marjorie. You must take a look at the trailer for By the Light of the Silvery Moon because it features Mary as Stella breaking the fourth wall to explain the movie’s plot. These movies are as sweet as candy and I absolutely love the cast, but it’s Wickes I look most forward to even though her friend George S. Kaufman had written her from New York urging her to return to do stage work. Of On Moonlight Bay Mr. Kaufman said, “you’re too good for that sort of thing.” That’s probably true, but it’s what we have of Mary Wickes and if Kaufman doesn’t mind I will celebrate it by mentioning one of my favorite lines in either movie, which comes early in On Moonlight Bay. Stella is complaining to Mr. Winfield that the kitchen is too big and it tires her out so in pure Wickes style she says, “I’m bein’ paid to be a cook, not a cross-country runner!”

The Winfield’s maid, Stella always has something to complain about

I think of Mary Wickes’ movie career as made up of many special moments as is the case with many of our favorite character actors. After all these actors didn’t star in their own movies. And like the best of ’em Mary had a lot stored in her talent cannon. For instance, her physical prowess was unique. She said a lot with her eyes, used her hands beautifully to emphasize eccentricity and her lanky frame allowed for more than a few memorable slapstick moments on film. It was her timing, however, that made her a standout like Eve Arden, Thelma Ritter and a few other top-notch actors of the supporting kind. If you want to check out a few of Mary Wickes’ other movies, you might try Edward Cline’s fun put-on-a-show Private Buckaroo (1942) or Erle C. Kenton’s Who Done It? (1942) with Abbott and Costello. Then there’s Michael Curtiz’s White Christmas (1954) in which she plays housekeeper Emma, one of her most enduring roles. She portrayed another Emma in George Cukor’s The Actress (1953) and you might also like her portrayal of “Pick-a-little lady” in Morton DaCosta’s The Music Man (1962). And…and…there are simply too many.

Abbott and Costello meet Mary Wickes in Who Done It?

If none of those make you slap happy you can also enjoy another of Mary’s famous on-screen depictions – the nun – in Ida Lupino’s The Trouble with Angels (1966) and its sequel, James Neilson’s Where Angels Go Trouble Follows! (1968), both starring Rosalind Russell. I assure you Mary’s religious types are as fun as her nurses and maids. Three decades after the movies with Russell in which she played Sister Clarissa Mary enjoyed a career resurgence as Sister Mary Lazarus in the hugely popular Sister Act (1992) and its sequel, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993). By that point Wicks was in the seventh decade of her career and her timing was still on target.

As Sister Clarissa

As Sister Mary Lazarus

The more mature Mary Wickes also portrayed the cranky old relative role to perfection. She did so in Mike Nichols’ Postcards from the Edge (1990), which broke a dry spell for the veteran actor who hadn’t been offered feature parts for quite some time. Mary’s work on television never ceased, but movie parts were few and far between after her appearance in the Angels movies. It’s nice to know that the 1990s were good to her. Following Edge and the Sister Act movies she played Aunt March in Gillian Armstrong’s Little Women (1994). Her final movie performance was as the voice of the gargoyle Laverne in the Disney animated feature, The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) and her final performance on television was as the voice of Grandma in the animated series Life with Louie.

I’ve left the discussion of Mary Wickes’ career on television for last because it’s how I first met her. Also, it brings this full circle since I began this Wickes journey with a mention of The Gertrude Berg Show, which is highly recommended. Mary received her only award nomination for Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role by an Actress for her work in that show. She didn’t win the award, but she makes me laugh like all heck and so she has my heart. Her reactions and comebacks are priceless at every turn.

Mary made her acting television debut as Mary Poppins in a 1949 episode of the anthology series, Studio One in Hollywood. Yes, she was the original Poppins anywhere at any time!

As Mary Poppins

From then on Wickes’ TV roles never stopped. She was a regular on such notables as Make Room for Daddy, Zorro, Julia, The Jimmy Stewart Show, Doc and Father Dowling Mysteries. She also had a recurring role on Dennis the Menace, which I’ve been watching lately and in which Mary Wickes is a hoot. Mary plays Miss Esther Cathcart, a single woman out to get a man at all costs. Miss Cathcart often uses Dennis in her schemes to hilarious effect. So far my favorite moments on the show are when Miss Cathhart sings, which she does to impress, but which results in broken mirrors, barking dogs and the like. If you have an extra moment be sure to check out Miss Cathcart’s rendition of “Love’s Old Sweet Song.” She really had such ease with comedy and clearly did anything asked of her with aplomb.

As a guest Mary Wickes appeared in every type of show imaginable from variety to mystery to everything in between. I can only mention a few standouts. When Gloria Swanson kicked off her The Gloria Swanson Hour she asked Mary Wickes to be her very first guest. Mary also guested on two episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents in 1956, the first of which, “The Baby Sitter,” directed by Robert Stevens is quite special. The episode stars Thelma Ritter as a baby sitter who gets involved in a murder. I wouldn’t say the story here is particularly noteworthy, but watching two of the premier character actors of the last century together is a thrill for film geeks like me, not to mention appropriate for this blogathon event. It’s Ritter and Wickes for crissakes.

Ritter and Wickes in “The Baby Sitter” Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode

One of my favorite of Mary Wickes’ TV guest spots was her small but hilarious part as the second murder victim’s landlady in Columbo “Suitable for Framing.” Her exchange with the Lt. alone is worth several admission prices. In this episode Wickes’ talent for playing characters that danced to their own beat so they easily carry on their own conversations despite who else might have been talking to them is in full bloom. If that sentence didn’t make sense, then good. This picture says it all…

Peter Falk with Mary Wickes in “Suitable for Framing”

I have to stop talking about Ms. Wickes at some point so it might as well be with a mention of Mary and Lucy. As most of you probably know Lucille Ball and Mary Wickes were close friends. Among Mary’s effects at Washington University are several letters from Lucy and Lucie Arnaz refers to Mary as family. I get a bit of the chills thinking about the two legendary comediennes laughing together behind the scenes, telling each other secrets and comforting each other as friends do.

Lucy and Mary were also frequent co-stars. Everyone remembers the classic first season episode of I Love Lucy, “The Ballet” with Mary playing the part of a ballet teacher, Madame Lamond. The episode begins in familiar fashion – Ricky is working on a show and needs a ballet dancer and Lucy tries to convince him she is a ballet dancer. In order to hone her skills Lucy goes to see Madame Lamond, the French premiere ballerina who is staging Ricky’s number. Lucy also tells Madame Lamond that she’s experienced. You know how well that turns out. But the important thing are the laughs and there are plenty of them here thanks to Lucy’s hijinks and Mary’s unforgettable reactions and her affected French accent.

“The Ballet” with Lucy and Mary doing what they did best

Mary only appeared in that one episode of I Love Lucy, but she appeared regularly in both of Lucille’s subsequent shows, The Lucy Show and Here’s Lucy. Wickes made a total of seventeen appearances on both shows always as different characters. You’ll be happy to know that a few were nurses, a few were maids, a few were nuns and one was named Mrs. Wickenhauser.

Mary Wickes knew that she excelled at comedy, which she called “very serious business.” And she loved what she did, which makes her story a particularly happy one. There were times when the going was a bit tougher than other times, but she worked most of her career because her talent was recognized as indispensable. When Mary gave her speech at Washington University she was 77 years old and ended the speech by paraphrasing St. Augustine in charming and endearing fashion. She said, “He said, ‘give me chastity and continence, O Lord, but not yet.’ And me – ‘I want rest, retirement, and quiet, O Lord, but not yet. And maybe never.”’

Mary Wickes, What a Character!

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The great Ms. Wickes is my choice for this year’s What a Character! Blogathon, which I am co-hosting with pals Kelly Pratt and Paula Guthat. Be sure to visit all three days of entries.

Day 1 at Outspoken & Freckled

Day 2 at Once Upon a Screen

Day 3 at Paula’s Cinema Club (still to come)

  For more about the incomparable Mary Wickes visit:

Mary Wickes: Her Life and Legacy at Washington University in St. Louis

Mary Wickes: I Know I’ve Seen That Face Before by Steve Taravella

It’s important that you are aware of how seriously I take research on this blog. As part of my ceaseless efforts I tweeted Whoopi Goldberg and asked about her experience working with Mary Wickes in the Sister Act movies. Ms. Goldberg never responded, but that’s the kind of dedication I’m talking about.

  Mary Wickes, WHAT A CHARACTER! During last year’s Christmas break, which happened to be just days after the What a Character! Blogathon, I settled in to watch episodes of T…

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Over one hundred artists write on Trump and Jerusalem

The Guardian reports (10th December) President Macron’s comment that recent US moves on the status of Jerusalem are a threat to peace. They are much more than that.

In recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Donald Trump seeks to achieve through a declaration what Israel has been trying to do for fifty years through force of arms: to erase Palestinians, as a political and cultural presence, from the life of their own city.

The Palestinian people of Jerusalem are already subject to municipal discrimination at every level, and a creeping process of ethnic cleansing. In addition to the continuing policy of house demolitions, in the last fifteen years, at least thirty-five Palestinian public institutions and NGOs in occupied East Jerusalem have been permanently or temporarily closed by the occupying forces. Cultural institutions have been a particular target.

At the same time Israeli authorities and entrepreneurs have spent millions in clearing Palestinian neighbourhoods to create ‘heritage’ projects that promote a myth of mono-ethnic urban identity, said to stretch back 3000 years.

We reject Trump’s collusion with such racist manipulation, and his disregard for international law. We deplore his readiness to crown the Israeli military conquest of East Jerusalem and his indifference to Palestinian rights.

As artists and as citizens, we challenge the ignorance and inhumanity of these policies, and celebrate the resilience of Palestinians living under occupation.

Khalid Abdalla, actor Mustafa İlhan, photographer, journalist Tunde Adebimpe, musician Peter Ahrends, architect Hanan Al-Shaykh, writer Tayo Aluko, actor, playwright Frankie Armstrong, musician Jonathan Arndell, architect Conrad Atkinson, visual artist Phyllida Barlow, visual artist Roy Battersby, film director Sarah Beddington, visual artist Yves Berger, painter Nicholas Blincoe, writer Nick Broomfield, film director David Calder, actor Julie Christie, actor Caryl Churchill, playwright Norma Cohen, actor, writer Joseph Coward, writer, singer Molly Crabapple, writer, artist Darren Cullen, artist Michael Cunningham, writer Selma Dabbagh, writer William Dalrymple, writer, historian Michael Darlow, director Angela Davis, writer Dror Dayan, filmmaker April de Angelis, playwright Andy de la Tour, actor Ivor Dembina, comedian Shane Dempsey, theatre director Olof Dreijer, musician Zillah Eisenstein, author Sally El Hosaini, screenwriter, director Brian Eno, musician Eve Ensler, playwright Samir Eskanda, musician Jodie Evans, author, producer Annie Firbank, actor Peter Gabriel, musician Tom Gilroy, actor, director Orlando Gough, composer Stephanos Gouvianakis, DJ Douglas Hart, musician, director Mona Hatoum, visual artist Rachel Holmes, writer Ian Ilavsky, label co-founder Aki Kaurismaki, film director John Keane, visual artist Peter Kennard, artist AL Kennedy, writer Nancy Kricorian, writer Hari Kunzru, writer Paul Laverty, screenwriter James Lecesne, actor Mike Leigh, writer, director Tom Leonard, poet Les Levidow, violinist Ken Loach, film director Carmen Lobue, actor Liz Lochhead, poet, playwright Billy Lunn, musician Charlotte Marionneau, musician Kika Markham, actor Francesca Martinez, comedian, actor Massive Attack, band Ahmed Masoud, writer, director Hisham Matar, writer Emel Mathlouthi, musician Mark Matousek, writer Julian Maynard Smith, artist, director JD Meatyard, musician Pauline Melville, writer, actor Simon Milner, musician Thurston Moore, musician Tom Morello, musician Jenny Morgan, filmmaker Rosalind Nashashibi, artist Harry Newman, actor Christopher Norris, philosopher, writer Andrew O'Hagan, writer Eugene O'Hare, actor Kate Parker, producer Maxine Peake, actor Miranda Pennell, filmmaker Tonya Pinkins, actor Vijay Prashad, writer John Robb, musician, writer Michael Rosen, poet Mark Ruffalo, actor Kareem Samara, musician Lias Saoudi, musician Ian Saville, magician James Schamus, screenwriter, producer, director Nick Seymour, musician Nabil Shaban, actor, writer Khaldoun Shami, filmmaker Yasmin Shariff, architect Farhana Sheikh, writer Sheikh, band Kevin Shields, musician Gillian Slovo, writer John Smith, visual artist Ahdaf Soueif, writer Juliet Stevenson, actor Tilda Swinton, actor Yanis Varoufakis, author Naomi Wallace, playwright Marina Warner, writer Roger Waters, musician Hilary Westlake, theatre director Vivienne Westwood, designer whenyoung, band Don Wilkie, label co-founder Susan Wooldridge, actor, writer Robert Wyatt, musician